MOSCOW (AP) — A tightly scripted meeting of the Russian-led economic union of several former Soviet states briefly went awry Thursday when the two leaders quarreled during a live broadcast of the meeting.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and other heads of state attended a meeting of the Eurasian Economic Union, whose members include Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan.
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, who increasingly seeks to wind down his country’s ties with Moscow and forge closer ties with the West, spoke via video link after canceling a trip due to a positive COVID-19 test. Attended the meeting.
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Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, whose country is serving as rotating chairman of the Armenian Economic Group, was on vacation near St. Petersburg when he urged Pashinyan to visit Belarus for the alliance’s next meeting. Elaborate meetings were held at the resort.
Pashinyan responded that he planned to attend the Belarusian meeting via video call, and Lukashenko later pressed him for an explanation and even offered to send a plane to fly the Armenian delegation to the Belarusian capital.
Pashinyan later pointed to Lukashenko’s earlier decision to freeze high-level visits to Belarus due to his support for Armenia’s rival Azerbaijan.
“I think this is not the right form to discuss these issues,” Pashinyan added.
But Lukashenko kept arguing and Pashinyan pushed back. Putin and other leaders, sitting next to Lukashenko, watched the fracas in silence.
The Eurasian Economic Union was created a decade ago to encourage stronger commercial ties and boost trade among its members, but the union has been marred by economic and other disputes among members.
