Belarus claims the US denied visas for its delegation to attend Trump’s inaugural Peace Council meeting on February 19.
Belarus Absent from Trump’s Peace Council Meeting
The first meeting of the Peace Council was held on Thursday, February 19. Among the leaders invited to Washington by Donald Trump was Belarus’s leader Alexander Lukashenko. Belarusians wanted their country to be represented at the meeting by Foreign Minister Maksym Ryzhankov. However, ultimately, no representative of Belarus appeared at the inaugural meeting of the Peace Council.
Belarusian Ministry: We Were Denied Visas
The Belarusian Ministry of Foreign Affairs claims that Americans did not issue the necessary visas for Belarusians to travel to US territory. “The Belarusian side promptly informed the event organizers that according to the head of state’s decision, our country would be represented by Minister of Foreign Affairs Maksym Ryzhankov. All necessary notifications were communicated to American diplomatic services in the established manner, and documents for issuing visas were submitted with sufficient advance notice. However, despite fulfilling all required procedures from our side, visas for our delegation were not issued,” the Belarusian ministry stated in a statement sent to the BelTA press agency.
Belarusian Ministry Criticizes Americans
The Belarusian Ministry of Foreign Affairs criticized the Americans’ actions. “In this situation, a reasonable question arises: what peace and what steps are we talking about, when the organizers cannot even fulfill the basic formalities necessary for our participation (in the Peace Council – ed.)?” reads the statement. “Additional comments are unnecessary,” stated the Belarusian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Lukashenko’s Spokesperson on the Peace Council Invitation
On February 11, Lukashenko’s spokesperson Natalya Eismont said that the Belarusian leader received the invitation to the Peace Council meeting too late. “The president’s work schedule for that period was already planned. We would have been pleased to visit the United States, but there are matters that cannot be postponed. Additionally, we are considering potential logistical difficulties that may arise from illegal sanctions, primarily from the European Union, taking into account the closure of airspace over the EU,” Eismont conveyed.
