On 17 August, Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili responded to the ongoing events in Belarus by releasing a statement expressing hope the country's "democratic and European future" is not harmed in the process, reported agenda.ge.
Zourabichvili’s administration expressed hope that "Belarus and its people will be able to decide their own future democratically.” The statement also mentioned that Georgia "respects European values" and "stays true to democratic principles,” which serve as the basis for "development, progress and return to European family" for the two countries.
Meanwhile, several Armenian officials spoke on the hasty congratulations of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan to the controversial win of Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko (Caucasus Watch reported). The secretary of Armenia’s Security Council Armen Grigoryan said that the decision to congratulate was a result of an a “comprehensive risk assessment” from the Armenian authorities. “Security-related and other major decisions have grounds they are not born out of thin air. In general, a complete risk assessment is made, and a decision is taken in the interests of the Republic of Armenia,” he said, adding that Pashinyan’s message was in line with the values of the Velvet Revolution.
A member of the Armenian parliament’s pro-government My Step faction Mikael Zolyan said that the congratulations sent to the Belarus leader were “a step taken in accordance with certain diplomatic rules.” He also warned that that both parliamentarians and government officials in Armenia should exercise restraint in commenting on the events in Belarus and that violence is unacceptable in any situation.
Opposition Bright Armenia faction member Armen Yeghiazaryan, one of the observers at the Belarus election representing the Inter-parliamentary Assembly of the Commonwealth of Independent States got the impression that perhaps there were no major violations during the vote and that the results were legitimate.
In the meantime, the majority of the members of the European Parliament (European People's Party, Socialists & Democrats, Renew Europe, Greens/EFA and ECR groups) issued a joint statement saying that they do not recognize the results of the Belarusian presidential election. They consider Lukashenko a persona non grata in the EU and believe that the EU should reconsider its cooperation with Belarus within the Eastern Partnership.
