"Two CSTO countries were involved in preparing Azerbaijan for war against us" - Pashinyan
Pashinyan’s reaction to Lukashenko’s statement
Armenian prime minister Nikol Pashinyan responded to Belarusian president Lukashenko’s statement by saying, “I know at least two countries from the Collective Security Treaty Organization [a Russian military bloc that includes Armenia] that participated in preparing for the war against us.”
This was his reaction to Lukashenko’s statement made during his visit to Azerbaijan. Here, Lukashenko essentially acknowledged that before the start of the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war, he discussed possible military actions with Ilham Aliyev, and together they “concluded that victory could be achieved in war.”
Pashinyan did not disclose the second allied country of Armenia involved in preparing for the war. It can only be assumed that he was referring to Russia.
The Collective Security Treaty Organization includes Russia, Belarus, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan.
The prime minister emphasized that the countries involved in preparing for the 44-day war in Karabakh also “created an imitation of helping or wanting to help” Armenia. According to him, the goal of the war was not to resolve the Nagorno-Karabakh issue, but rather to ensure the “non-existence of an independent Republic of Armenia.”
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What Lukashenko said to Aliyev
During a meeting with Azerbaijani president on May 16th, Alexander Lukashenko stated:
“I recalled our conversation before the war, before your liberating war, when we engaged in philosophical dialogue over lunch. Back then, we concluded that victory in war is possible. That’s important. And then we agreed that after the war, the most difficult time would begin, when it would be necessary to revive the lands you liberated, to start the rebirth. And now is precisely that difficult time when we need to revive these lands, we need to bring people back. You have won, you have held onto victory. Now it’s time to revive. This is the time, this is a great labor, and it may take five, perhaps ten years to accomplish everything.”
The president of Belarus visited Karabakh with his Azerbaijani counterpart and gifted Belarusian tractors. Additionally, Belarusian minister of Architecture and Construction, Ruslan Parkhamovich, informed Azerbaijani journalists that Minsk plans to build apartments for 420 families in Agdam. He also stated that Belarus intends to engage in infrastructure construction here – transportation, engineering, and the construction of social facilities.
Pashinyan: “Lukashenko said what I’ve been trying to convey for four years”
As stated by the prime minister of Armenia from the parliamentary podium, the president of Belarus said what he himself had been trying to convey to the people indirectly for understandable reasons, as he couldn’t express himself directly and openly:
“In the preparation of the 44-day war, our allies were not on our side. And I am glad that I managed to get Lukashenko to say this publicly. I will continue these attempts. There are still people who need to speak about this publicly,” he said.
According to Pashinyan, attempts to overthrow the statehood of Armenia occurred even after the 2020 war, after the signing of the trilateral statement on the cessation of hostilities in Karabakh. In particular, he mentioned the invasion of Azerbaijani armed forces into Armenian sovereign territory in May 2021 and September 2022, as well as military actions in Nagorno-Karabakh in September 2023.
“Another attempt was made on May 9, 2024 [referring to a massive opposition rally demanding the cessation of border demarcation with Azerbaijan and the resignation of the prime minister]. But again, it was not successful and will not be successful, partly due to the heavily criticized demarcation process. Because through this process of border demarcation, we deprived many of the opportunity to provoke border clashes [from Azerbaijan] parallel to the events of May 9, 2024 [within the country],” he said.
The Armenian prime minister reiterated that if the country’s statehood can be preserved over the next couple of years, it will be guaranteed for the next 50-100 years.
“What I will say may seem like an exaggeration, but thanks to the demarcation process, we have solved this problem by 60 percent. […] In the Tavush region [where border demarcation and delineation with Azerbaijan took place], we have laid the cornerstones of our state, on which security, freedom, and happiness should be built.”
