Minsk frustrated with cancellation of FM Ryžankoŭ’s trip to Washington

February 19, Pozirk. The Belarusian foreign ministry has expressed disappointment with the US diplomatic mission not issuing a visa for Belarusian Foreign Minister Maksim Ryžankoŭ to travel to Washington for the inaugural meeting of the Board of Peace scheduled for February 19.
“The Belarusian side promptly informed the organizers of the event that our country would be represented by Foreign Minister Maksim Ryžankoŭ by the decision of the head of state,” the ministry said in a comment to BelTA on Thursday evening. “All necessary notifications were sent to US protocol services in accordance with established procedure, visa documents were submitted in good time. However, despite the completion of all required procedures on our side, visas were not granted to our delegation.”
“In this situation a legitimate question arises: what peace and what consistency can one talk about if even basic formalities for our participation were not observed by the organizers?”
The ministry stressed that the “initial invitation to take part in the Board of Peace meeting from the US president was sent to the head of the Belarusian state.” “Further comments are unnecessary,” the ministry concluded
Instead of travelling to Washington, Maksim Ryžankoŭ took part in a literary evening in Minsk on the occasion of International Mother Language Day and Year of Belarusian Woman.
Alaksandar Łukašenka himself was invited to the first meeting of Donald Trump’s Board of Peace, but the ruler’s spokeswoman Natalla Ejsmant said on February 11 that that Foreign Minister Maksim Ryžankoŭ would represent Belarus.
She explained that the invitation had been sent at short notice and complained about the EU’s sanctions banning Belarusian carriers from its airspace.
On February 26, at a meeting with Sergei Glazyev, state secretary of the Union State of Belarus and Russia, Łukašenka said that he was not going to Washington because of the European air traffic restrictions on Belarus. “If you wanted to see me there, you should have resolved the issue so that I could fly there and back comfortably,” he said.
Belarus’ foreign minister attends cultural event in Minsk instead of Board of Peace in Washington
- SecurityLithuania reports spike in attempted irregular entries from BelarusThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- EconomyBelarusian delegation offers help with Uzbekistan’s nuclear projectThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- SocietyAuthorities given one day to answer exit ban inquiriesThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- SocietyBelarusians ranked ninth among visitors to Georgia in Q2The material is available only to POZIRK+
- Politics
- Society
- PoliticsBelarus does not have equally friendly relations with all Arab countries, Łukašenka saysThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- Economy, SocietyOfficial: agriculture sector crimes mostly linked to theftThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- PoliticsViasna: ex-artillery group commander given lengthy prison term in high treason caseThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- Economy
- SocietyViciebsk sees surge in corruption offenses – prosecutorsThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- Economy, SocietyNew apartment construction down 18.5 percent in H1The material is available only to POZIRK+
- EconomyBiełstat: Belarusian companies’ CapEx up nearly 12 percent in H1The material is available only to POZIRK+
- EconomyEDB: stronger investment, domestic demand drive Belarus' economic growthThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- Politics, SecurityUkraine boosts defenses with “kill zone” at shared border with BelarusThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- Politics, Security, SocietyUndocumented migrants trying to enter Lithuania from Belarus for five days in a rowThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- Politics, SocietyCichanoŭskaja looking forward to opening of Belarusian opposition office in WarsawThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- EconomyOpposition economist warns of possible inflation acceleration in Belarus in second half of the yearThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- EconomyUzbek workers in Belarus expected to produce food for export to Uzbekistan, official saysThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- Economy



