Armenian NA speaker meets with leader of Belarusian opposition 

ArmInfo.Closer cooperation with Armenian parliamentarians was discussed at a meeting between the  leader of the Belarusian opposition Svetlana Tikhanovskaya and the Speaker of the Armenian Parliament Alen Simonyan, the press service of the Belarusian politician reported. 

According to the source, during the meeting Tikhanovskaya expressed  words of solidarity and also thanked RA Prime Minister Nikol  Pashinyan for his decision not to come to the CSTO summit in Minsk in  November last year. The issue of Belarusian Yaroslav Novikov, who was  detained at the request of the Belarusian security forces, was also  raised with the Armenian delegation. Armenian representatives  reported that he would receive political asylum.

The meeting took place in the European Parliament during the plenary  session of the Parliamentary Assembly "Euranest".

On March 17, it became known that four men were detained in Armenia  at the request of the Belarusian authorities. They are accused of  evading conscription for military service. One of the detainees is  called Yaroslav Novikov. The issue of extradition, which Armenian  human rights activists and Belarusian democratic forces are trying to  prevent, is being resolved in court.