A diplomatic spat has erupted between Armenia and Belarus, which has led to ties being severed between the two over apparent arms supplies by Minsk to Armenia’s arch-rival, Azerbaijan.
Politico reported on Wednesday that Belarus had supplied Azerbaijan with advanced weapons systems between 2018 and 2022, during which the latter was in regular conflict with Armenia. The outlet said the deals would be seen by Yerevan as a betrayal as it has a security pact with Minsk under which the two are theoretically obliged to defend one another.
Armenia’s Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan announced in parliament on Wednesday that the country plans to leave the Moscow-led military alliance, the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), as it no longer trusts its supposed allies in the bloc, which Pashinyan accused of “planning a war against us with Azerbaijan.” Pashinyan later said he would reconsider his decision to quit if Belarus apologized and withdrew from the organization. Azerbaijan is not a member of the CSTO having left a forerunner to the alliance in 1999.
Azerbaijan and Armenia have a history of armed conflict stretching back for over a century, which most recently flared up into all-out war over the break-away Azerbaijani region of Nagorno-Karabakh, which was populated by self-governing ethnic Armenians. Following the 2020 war, an offensive by Azerbaijan in September 2023 re-took control of the region, causing the exodus of its population of 100,000 to Armenia. In 2022, Azerbaijan breached Armenia’s borders and seized control of strategic high ground.
Protests erupted nationwide in Armenia in mid-June after Pashinyan agreed to cede control of four border villages to the country’s bitter enemy.
Yerevan’s decision to leave the CSTO will undermine Moscow’s authority in the Caucasus and former Soviet sphere more broadly. It may also place a question mark over Moscow’s reliability as a security partner. As Politico reported, it would be virtually impossible for Belarus to have exported the arms without at least tacit approval from the Kremlin.
“It’s ridiculous to think these transfers could have taken place without Moscow’s knowledge and that Russia couldn’t have stopped them if it wanted to,” the outlet quoted Ivana Stradner, a research fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, as saying. “There is no such thing as loyalty when it comes to Moscow; it’s all about preserving their own security, even if it’s at the expense of their own allies… This truly shows that with friends like Vladimir Putin, nobody needs enemies.”
On Thursday, Russian state news agency RIA reported that Pashinyan had said no Armenian officials would travel to Belarus while its president, Alexander Lukashenko, remained in power. Subsequently, Yerevan recalled its ambassador, Russian agency TASS said, and Belarus's representative returned to Minsk.
The Collective Security Treaty Organization was established in 2002. It currently groups Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Armenia, and Tajikistan. A previous similar pact also included Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Uzbekistan.
Armenia’s Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan announced in parliament on Wednesday that the country plans to leave the Moscow-led military alliance, the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), as it no longer trusts its supposed allies in the bloc, which Pashinyan accused of “planning a war against us with Azerbaijan.” Pashinyan later said he would reconsider his decision to quit if Belarus apologized and withdrew from the organization. Azerbaijan is not a member of the CSTO having left a forerunner to the alliance in 1999.
Azerbaijan and Armenia have a history of armed conflict stretching back for over a century, which most recently flared up into all-out war over the break-away Azerbaijani region of Nagorno-Karabakh, which was populated by self-governing ethnic Armenians. Following the 2020 war, an offensive by Azerbaijan in September 2023 re-took control of the region, causing the exodus of its population of 100,000 to Armenia. In 2022, Azerbaijan breached Armenia’s borders and seized control of strategic high ground.
Protests erupted nationwide in Armenia in mid-June after Pashinyan agreed to cede control of four border villages to the country’s bitter enemy.
Yerevan’s decision to leave the CSTO will undermine Moscow’s authority in the Caucasus and former Soviet sphere more broadly. It may also place a question mark over Moscow’s reliability as a security partner. As Politico reported, it would be virtually impossible for Belarus to have exported the arms without at least tacit approval from the Kremlin.
“It’s ridiculous to think these transfers could have taken place without Moscow’s knowledge and that Russia couldn’t have stopped them if it wanted to,” the outlet quoted Ivana Stradner, a research fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, as saying. “There is no such thing as loyalty when it comes to Moscow; it’s all about preserving their own security, even if it’s at the expense of their own allies… This truly shows that with friends like Vladimir Putin, nobody needs enemies.”
On Thursday, Russian state news agency RIA reported that Pashinyan had said no Armenian officials would travel to Belarus while its president, Alexander Lukashenko, remained in power. Subsequently, Yerevan recalled its ambassador, Russian agency TASS said, and Belarus's representative returned to Minsk.
The Collective Security Treaty Organization was established in 2002. It currently groups Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Armenia, and Tajikistan. A previous similar pact also included Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Uzbekistan.
Source: Politico, Reuters
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