Armenian deputy PM to join CIS meeting remotely

Armenian Deputy Prime Minister Mher Grigoryan will take part remotely in the meeting of the CIS Council of Heads of Government in Minsk, while Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan will not attend, Grigoryan’s press office told TASS on Monday.

“Deputy Prime Minister Mher Grigoryan will join the CIS council meeting via a video link,” it said.

Armenian officials have avoided in-person participation in Belarus for about a year and a half. The boycott followed Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko’s visit to Nagorno-Karabakh in May 2024, shortly after it was seized by Azerbaijan. During that trip, Lukashenko offered assistance in post-war reconstruction. Pashinyan later announced that Armenian officials would not visit Belarus “as long as Lukashenko remains in office.”