According to representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Belarusian side, in compliance with the appropriate procedures, provided all the necessary documents on time, but visas were not issued for the delegation.
The department assured that Minsk informed the organizers of the event that Belarus would be represented by Ryzhenkov, but the invitation from Trump was addressed to Alexander Lukashenko, who calls himself the President of Belarus.
“If even basic formalities are not adhered to, what kind of “peace” are we talking about?” – the message says.
Visas for our payment to the UK were not entered, all documents that were signed for hours and procedures were removed.
Belarus had to inform the organizers that, upon the decision of the head of state, foreign Minister Maxim Ryzhenkov had to accept.
The invitation… pic.twitter.com/Ttzo3zDm7z
— Russian MFA 🇧🇾 (@BelarusMFA) February 19, 2026
The press secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Belarus Ruslana Varankova reported on January 19 that Lukashenko was invited to the Peace Council. Later, Lukashenko's press secretary Natalya Eismont said that he would not go to the United States, allegedly because late invitation and that “the president’s work schedule for this period had already been planned.”
Context
On January 22, at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Trump signed a document establishing the Peace Council. Its charter was signed by about 20 countries, including Hungary and Bulgaria among EU members. Some countries rejected Trump's invitation, including France.
Trump invited countries wishing to have a permanent seat on the Gaza Peace Council to contribute at least $1 billion, Bloomberg reported. Critics fear that the US president is trying to create an alternative to the UN and concentrate control over finances and decisions in one hand.
