Armenia strongly hopes that the situation in Belarus will be resolved peacefully, Foreign Minister Zohrab Mnatsakanyan said in an interview with Interfax on Monday.

To the reporter’s remark that Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan came to power as a result of a “velvet”, non-violent revolution in 2018 and now it turns out that Armenia supports the Belarusian leader, the minister said: “There is no doubt that the key to handling the difficult situation is in the hands of the people of Belarus. Armenia has passed its own path and it isn’t right to draw parallels between them. Yes, there can be some shared criteria, but in general, we have two different situations. The most important thing is to understand and acknowledge that it's for the people of Belarus to resolve the issue. We strongly hope that the situation will be resolved peacefully.”

Asked whether Armenia officially recognizes Alexander Lukashenko as the legitimate president of Belarus, Mnatsakanyan said that Pashinyan has congratulated the president of Belarus.

“We will follow how the people of Belarus will resolve this problem. We intend to work with Belarus in all directions, both on bilateral and international platforms,” he added.