The French ambassador to Belarus had no choice but to pack his bags. Nicolas de Bouillane de Lacoste indeed left the country, Sunday, October 17, after an ultimatum from Minsk. “Ambassador Nicolas de Lacoste left Belarus today”, said a spokeswoman for the embassy. She did not explain the reason given by the Belarusian foreign ministry for requesting her departure.
But according to Belarusian media, the ambassador was expelled because he never presented his credentials to President Alexander Lukashenko. In a message on its website, the French Embassy in Belarus indicated that the diplomat presented, on December 8, 2020, “The figurative copy of his credentials” to Foreign Minister Vladimir Makei.
“The Belarusian Foreign Ministry requested that the ambassador leave before October 18th”, said the spokesperson. “He said goodbye to the embassy staff and sent a video message to the Belarusian people, which will appear tomorrow. (Monday) on the website of the embassy “, she clarified.
Paris refuses Lukashenko’s victory
France, like other countries of the European Union (EU), did not recognize the results of the August presidential election, which granted Lukashenko a sixth term and sparked for several months massive and unprecedented demonstrations in this former Soviet republic, Russia’s ally of Vladimir Putin. The EU and the United States have adopted a series of sanctions against the Belarusian regime after the crackdown on opponents of Lukashenko.
But the 67-year-old leader, who accuses Western governments of instigating the protests in the hope of provoking a revolution, is resisting sanctions for now, with support and credits from Moscow.
Belarus recently cut ties with other Western interlocutors. In March, Minsk expelled all Latvian embassy staff, including the ambassador, because the Latvian authorities used the Belarusian opposition flag in an ice hockey championship match. In August, the Belarusian government withdrew its agreement on the appointment of American ambassador Julie Fisher, who was confirmed in December as the first envoy of the United States to this former Soviet republic since 2008.
Hundreds of opponents imprisoned
The regime has since managed to end the protests, imprisoned hundreds of opponents and shut down dozens of media and NGOs. Opposition leaders have all been jailed or forced into exile.
In September, a Belarusian court sentenced one of the main opposition figures, Maria Kolesnikova, to eleven years in prison. She is the only leader of the 2020 protests – which at times brought together hundreds of thousands – to still be in the country.
Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, whose opposition and Westerners believe she won the presidential election against Alexander Lukashenko, is for her part in exile in neighboring Lithuania.
During the year following the election, she mobilized the great leaders of the planet, calling on the international community to pressure for a new presidential election to be held in her country.