Protests in Belarus and the fighting in Karabakh have upended relations between the Russian authorities and the leaders of Minsk and Yerevan. In the past, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, despite generally acting in conjunction with Moscow, have nonetheless tried to distance themselves from Russia as much as possible and periodically sided with the West in condemning certain Kremlin actions. However, in recent months, each of them, for his own reasons, has had to turn to Russia for help. Lukashenko, rejected by what appears to be a majority of his own people and not recognized by the West as the legitimate president, began to seek Vladimir Putin’s support. He has sought to affirm his absolute loyalty to the Kremlin and prove Belarus’s irreplaceable role in protecting Russia “from Western aggression”. Similarly, Pashinyan, in seeking Moscow’s support in Armenia’s war against Turkish-backed Azerbaijan, also promised his loyalty.
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Men pass an unexploded rocket in the breakaway Nagorno-Karabakh region's main city of Stepanakert on Oct. 6, 2020, during the ongoing fighting between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the disputed region.
