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The foreign ministers of Lithuania and Poland reacted to Belarus’ demand to call ambassadors for consultations and to reduce the diplomatic corps in the country.
The diplomatic corps of Lithuania and Poland, contrary to the expectations of the Belarusian authorities, will not be reduced. This was stated by the heads of the Lithuanian Foreign Ministry, Linas Linkevicius, and the Polish Foreign Minister, Zbigniew Rau.
Rau on his Twitter reportedthat neither he nor Linkevicius are going to invite their ambassadors to consultations.
“Belarus has called its ambassadors in Poland and Lithuania for consultations and expects the same from Poland and Lithuania. Together with Linas Linkevicius, we are convinced that it is necessary to preserve communication channels, and at this stage we are not going to invite our ambassadors. for inquiries, “he wrote. …
BY summoned its ambassadors in PL and LT for consultation and expects the same from PL and LT. Together with @LinkeviciusL We are convinced that communication channels must be preserved and at this stage we do not intend to invite our Ambassadors for consultations.
– Zbigniew Rau (@RauZbigniew) October 2, 2020
Linkevicius expressed a similar point of view, writes the Delfi portal.
According to him, Lithuania does not intend to call its ambassador for consultations and will definitely not do anything in terms of staff reductions, as it sees a lot of problems in this and does not see any benefit.
Since October 5, Belarus has called ambassadors from Lithuania and Poland. The decision to withdraw and downsize the embassies of these countries in Belarus was explained in the Belarusian Foreign Ministry by “unequivocal destructive activities on the part of these countries.”
Mass protests have continued in Belarus since August 9 due to falsification of the voting results in the presidential elections, which, according to official data, were won by incumbent President Alexander Lukashenko. Also, alternative exit polls showed a landslide victory the opposition candidate Svetlana Tikhanovskaya. The Belarusian security forces violently dispersed the protesters. They used stun grenades, rubber bullets, and water cannons. During the protests, more than 10 thousand protesters were arrested, hundreds were injured and wounded. According to official figures, four protesters died.
On September 23, a secret inauguration ceremony of Lukashenka took place at the Independence Palace in Minsk. For the first time in the history of Belarus was not announced… Contrary to legal requirements, the ceremony not televised… The European Union said that do not consider Lukashenko to be the legitimate president of Belarus.
Lukashenko accuses the opposition of trying to seize power and believes that the protests are financed by Western countries. On September 17, he announced that Belarus would close the border with Lithuania and Poland.
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