Armen Grigoryan: Armenia is a Sovereign Country and is Not Going to Join Union State of Russia and Belarus

YEREVAN — The Secretary of Armenia’s Security Council Armen Grigoryan shrugged off today media allegations that Armenia is preparing to join the Union State of Russia and Belarus.

Speaking to reporters after a government meeting Grigoryan said . “There is no such issue on Armenia’s agenda, and if there is no such issue, my position is that Armenia is a sovereign, democratic state and must remain as such.”

Some of Armenian pro-opposition dailies claimed earlier that the draft agreement on Armenia’s accession to the Union State of Russia and Belarus is to be ready by 2024.

In a televised interview broadcast earlier this week, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko  predicted that Moscow will cobble together a bigger “union of sovereign states” with common defense, national security and economic systems over the next 10 to 15 years.

He said it will comprise not only Russia and Belarus but also Central Asian states, Armenia and even Ukraine. Armenia will join the union because it “has nowhere to go,” claimed the long-serving Belarusian strongman.

The remarks provoked a storm of criticism in Armenia. The Foreign Ministry on Tuesday summoned Belarus’ ambassador in Yerevan and said Lukashenko’s claims “have nothing to do with Armenia and its foreign policy.”

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan condemned Lukashenko on Wednesday, recalling his brutal crackdown on opposition protesters following a disputed presidential election held in Belarus in 2020.

“There were [similar] events in Armenia. But did you see me walk in the streets with an assault rifle?” Pashinyan said on the parliament floor.