There is no talk of a diplomatic scandal after the statement by the President of Belarus, Aleksandr Lukashenko, about Armenia. The statement came from Belarusian Foreign Minister Vladimir Makei.

"Hypertrophic attention has been paid to this issue by some political forces in Armenia. The [Belarusian] President's interview should be watched in full. There was no word [in it] that someone was forcing someone to join the integration union. I do not understand at all why they are talking about a diplomatic scandal," Makei said.

According to him, the implementation of Belarus’ allied programs with Russia will help other countries see the benefits of integration.

"The matter is that we ourselves have reached such a level of cooperation—within the framework of the Union State, within the framework of the EEU. The implementation of the programs of the Union State will give a new impetus to the deepening of integration. And many other countries will benefit from joining this type of integration unions," the Belarusian FM said.

In an interview last week with renowned Russian journalist Vladimir Solovyov, and commenting on the prospects of new countries joining the Union State comprising Russia and Belarus, the latter’s president, Aleksandr Lukashenko, had stated that "Armenia has no place to go" in this regard.