Speaker of the National Assembly (NA) of Armenia, Alen Simonyan, has accused the Belarusian authorities of helping Azerbaijan in preparing for the 44-day war in 2020. Simonyan expressed this opinion at a press briefing Wednesday.

Commenting on the note of protest handed by the Belarusian foreign ministry to the chargé d'affaires of Armenia on Tuesday, the NA speaker stated that the disrespectful attitude of this CSTO partner towards Armenia worsens relations, as well as the joint preparations with Azerbaijan for the 44-day war in 2020 and "many other things."

As Simonyan emphasized, a country's policy is chosen by the given country, and the primary values for Armenia are human rights and freedom. "We have chosen the path of democratization of Armenia, they [i.e. Belarus]—a slightly different path, not the same as Armenia," Simonyan stated.

Answering the question about undiplomatic phrasing, Simonyan stated that this is his character, besides, parliamentary activity does not constrain him in phrasing, unlike representatives of the diplomatic department.

Simonyan added that he had read the news about the protest note in the media and had no other information.

“Armenia will not be a peripheral province, Armenia will not be in political dependence, Armenia will increase its level of sovereignty politically and in all respects, and the example of Belarus’ governance is unacceptable for me, for my country,” stated the Armenian NA speaker.