Invited by Trump to the Peace Council, Belarus says it did not receive US visas to attend the inaugural meeting
Alexander Lukashenko. Photo: Gavriil Grigorov/Kremlin Pool/Zuma Press/Profimedia
Belarus, a close ally of Russia rarely invited to international meetings, said on Thursday that it intended to attend the inaugural meeting of US President Donald Trump's Peace Council in Washington, but failed to obtain the necessary visas, Reuters reports.
Belarus has long been subject to Western sanctions over its human rights record, and punitive measures were intensified after President Aleksandr Lukashenko allowed his country's territory to be used for Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
But Donald Trump has recently made diplomatic efforts towards Belarus, waiving some sanctions in exchange for the release of some political prisoners.
Trump sent the invitation to Lukashenko
The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Belarus, Maksim Rijenkov, was to participate in the inaugural meeting of the Peace Council in Washington, his ministry stated on Thursday, and the American side was duly informed, News.ro cites.
“However, despite the completion of all necessary procedures on our part, no visas were issued to our delegation,” the Belarusian ministry said in a statement.
“In this situation, a legitimate question arises: what kind of peace and what kind of steps are we talking about if the organizers cannot even fulfill the basic formalities for us to participate?”
The ministry said that Trump's invitation to attend the Peace Council meeting had originally been sent to President Aleksandr Lukashenko.
Lukashenko, in power since 1994, accepted last month to join the Peace Council – an invitation extended by the US as part of the normalization process involving the release of detainees.
Trump called Lukashenko a “highly respected” leader – a description that contradicts the views of exiled Belarusian opposition leaders, who denounce him as a dictator.
Putin's main ally accepted Trump's invitation and became a member of the Peace Council
Russia, which has the closest relationship with Belarus, also received an invitation to join the Peace Council, but hesitated to accept and said it was examining the matter.
Representatives of 47 countries attended the meeting of the Council proposed by Trump in September, when he announced his plan to end Israel's war in Gaza. Later, he stated that the Council's mandate will expand to address other conflicts around the world.
