Belarusian authorities ordered the French ambassador to Belarus, Nicolas de Lacoste, to leave the country by Monday after he failed to present his credentials to President Alexander Lukashenko. Nicolas de Lacoste was posted to Minsk last year.
Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported that the ambassador avoided presenting his credentials to Lukashenko and instead presented them to Belarusian Foreign Minister Vladimir Makei, whom he met last December, infuriating Lukashenko.
The French embassy spokesperson said, “The Belarusian foreign ministry demanded that the ambassador leave before October 18. He said goodbye to the embassy staff and recorded a video message to the Belarusian people, which will appear tomorrow morning on the embassy’s website.”
Additionally, the French embassy in Minsk stated that de Lacoste met the representatives of the banned non-governmental organisation, Govorii Pravdu, including its co-chair, Andrey Dmitriev. Dmitriev was a presidential candidate in last year’s disputed elections, in which Lukashenko secured re-election under suspicious circumstances.
Belarus has also recalled its ambassador to France, Igor Fesenko.
In a tweet, Franak Viačorka, a senior adviser to Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, said, “Today another European Union diplomat-French Ambassador Nicolas de Lacoste, was forced to leave Minsk by the regime. Ambassador didn’t present credentials to Lukashenka and was vocal about human rights abuses. Thank you, dear ambassador, for your solidarity and principled position.”
Most Western countries and citizens of Belarus believe that last year’s presidential elections were rigged and have refused to recognise Lukashenko as the rightful leader and protested against his autocratic rule, leading to a brutal crackdown on human rights. As a result, several countries from the Western bloc have imposed a series of sanctions on Belarusian authorities and other officials related to the regime for the crackdown on dissent as well as human rights abuses and the imprisonment of opposition leaders and dissidents.
In March, Belarusian authorities expelled Latvia’s ambassador and the embassy’s entire staff after Latvian authorities used the flag of Belarus’ opposition during an ice hockey championship. Furthermore, in August, Belarus cancelled the appointment of Julie Fisher as the United States’ ambassador to Belarus.
However, despite sanctions and international isolation, Lukashenko’s regime remains relatively unaffected due to continuous support from Russia.