“If the war in Nagorno-Karabakh continues, Russia will support Armenia, while Belarus will support Azerbaijan”

If the tensions in Nagorno-Karabakh continue, Belarus will try to act as a mediator, a kind of a neutral Eastern European Switzerland, political analyst Kirill Averyanov-Minsky told EADaily on Apr 7.

He added that Belarus has certain reasons for supporting Azerbaijan in this conflict.

“President Lukashenko is very much grateful to Azerbaijan for its support during his oil war with Russia. Azerbaijan also provides Belarus with a number of economic services. I mean the oil sector. So, in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Belarus will be on Azerbaijan’s side even though Armenia is a member of the Eurasian Economic Union and the Collective Security Treaty Organization. If the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh continues, Belarus and Russia may once again find themselves on the opposite sides; Russia will help its ally, Armenia, while Belarus will indirectly support Azerbaijan,” Averyanov-Minsky said.

Lukashenko, according to the expert, will try to act as a peacemaker – just like he did in Donbass. “I think that Belarus will offer Minsk as a venue for talks and will once again act as an Eastern European Switzerland,” Averyanov-Minsky said.

On Apr 3, Belorussian Ambassador to Armenia Igor Nazaruk met with Armenia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Shavarsh Kocharyan, who said that the Armenian authorities were sorely perplexed with the Belorussian Foreign Ministry’s comments on the last events in Nagorno-Karabakh. Kocharyan said that the comments run counter to the spirit of Armenian-Belorussian relations and the obligations Armenia and Belarus have in the framework of the Collective Security Treaty Organization and many other structures. Such comments cause damage to the peace talks and encourage the use of force.