YEREVAN – August 2, 2025
Armenia has not had an active ambassador in Belarus for over a year, raising questions about the state of diplomatic relations between the two countries. Despite the absence of Armenian envoy Razmik Khumaryan in Minsk since June 2024, the Armenian Foreign Ministry confirmed to Sputnik Armenia that he still officially holds the post.
“Razmik Khumaryan continues to serve as the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Armenia to the Republic of Belarus,” the ministry stated in response to an inquiry.
Khumaryan was recalled to Yerevan for consultations in mid-2024 amid rising tensions between Armenia and Belarus. According to media reports at the time, Yerevan had no intention of sending him back to Minsk, and that stance has not changed.
No Plans for Replacements in Minsk or Kyiv
The Foreign Ministry declined to clarify whether it plans to appoint new ambassadors to either Belarus or Ukraine, where the ambassadorial post has remained vacant since autumn 2024. “The public is informed of ambassadorial appointments and recalls in due course,” the ministry noted, avoiding specifics.
Tensions Rooted in Karabakh War Comments
Bilateral relations deteriorated sharply after Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko made comments perceived in Yerevan as supportive of Azerbaijan during the 2020 Karabakh war. In response, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan accused Lukashenko of directly aiding Azerbaijan and barred Armenian officials from traveling to Belarus as long as Lukashenko remains in power.
In June 2025, the diplomatic rift deepened further with both foreign ministries exchanging formal protest notes. In August 2024, tensions spilled into the streets when protestors in Yerevan pelted the Belarusian embassy with tomatoes and potatoes following another provocative statement by Lukashenko.
The animosity culminated in a verbal clash between Pashinyan and Lukashenko during a December session of the Eurasian Economic Union’s Supreme Council in St. Petersburg.
With no signs of thawing relations and ambassadorial appointments stalled, Armenia’s diplomatic posture toward Belarus appears firmly frozen for now.
