A robot has carried the Minsk 2019 Flame as the Torch Relay continued ©Minsk 2019

A robot has carried the European Games Flame as the Torch Relay visited the Belarus Hi-Tech Park on the latest stage of its journey through Minsk.

With two days to go until the Opening Ceremony, the robot called "Rozum Robotics" took the Flame and passed it to Aleksandr Shatrov, director of the Park.

"Our company created the IT platform for the Games, so it is significant that we should take part in the Torch Relay," Shatrov said.

"It is exhilarating."

The flame was also carried by Denis Bogush, chairman of the Belarusian Cybersport Federation.

They will stage an exhibition esports tournament during the Games period.

It is not the first time that a Torch Relay has gone robotic. 

The European Games Flame was passed from a robot called
The European Games Flame was passed from a robot called "Rozum Robotics" - with some help from Minsk 2019 mascot Lesik - to Aleksandr Shatrov, the Belarus Hi-Tech Park ©Belarus Hi-Tech Park

The 2018 Torch Relay for the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang boasted "Hubo" - a mechanical bearer .

The Minsk 2019 flame also visited the city’s wheel and tractor plant where workers lined the route with red and white balloons as the runners arrived.

On the penultimate leg of its 50-day journey, it will tour the Minsk Botanical Gardens and also call in at the National Academic Bolshoi Opera and Ballet Theatre.

It will also form the centerpiece of a welcome ceremony in the Athletes’ Village.

From the moment it left Rome after the lighting ceremony, riders from One Chapter Belarus motorbike club have guarded the flame. 

Their example has found an echo in Poland where a Warsaw bikers group have set out for Minsk for the Games. 

They plan to watch sambo.