Belarusian Foreign Ministry Responds to Alen Simonyan: 'Pre-Electoral Populism'

The press service of Belarus's Ministry of Foreign Affairs has responded to the statements made by the Speaker of the Armenian National Assembly, Alen Simonyan. The Belarusian Foreign Ministry characterized Simonyan's recent comments, in which he described Belarus as a non-sovereign state, as 'pre-electoral populism.'

According to the ministry, 'the words of the parliament speaker are an attempt to divert the attention of his electoral base from internal complex issues.' Press Secretary Ruslan Varankov noted that 'when poverty exceeds the threshold, passing 40 percent, unemployment is rising, and entire regions are stagnating, it is easiest to designate an 'external enemy' and become accustomed to sticking offensive labels.'

The diplomatic institution expressed regret over the Armenian leadership's approach, emphasizing that Belarus is sovereign and independently shapes its allied relations with Russia. 'We take pride in this cooperation and will not allow anyone to give us lessons,' Varankov stated.

The Foreign Ministry also opined that Yerevan's westward political orientation has led to economic instability, depopulation, and external dependency. It was mentioned that Minsk distinguishes between 'the fraternal Armenian people and their short-sighted representatives in power,' expressing hope that 'the Armenian leadership will return to constructive dialogue in the future.'