Why did Ukraine recall its ambassador Ihor Kyzym, what does this mean — for consultations, and is the severance of diplomatic relations with Belarus being considered?
Belarusian dictator Alyaksandr Lukashenka made another provocation by meeting with the Russian terrorist Denys Pushylin in Minsk. In response, Ukraine summoned its ambassador for consultations.
WHAT HAPPENED. On April 18, Lukashenka met with the Russian terrorist Pushylin at his Minsk residence. He offered "help with the reconstruction of Donetsk", in particular, industrial enterprises and agriculture, so that "people who are not strangers to us will finally stop suffering".
In response, Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry called its ambassador to Belarus, Ihor Kyzym, for consultations.
"Minsk should refrain from such destructive steps and stop supporting Russia's aggressive war against Ukraine," the Foreign Ministry said, adding that Lukashenka's meeting with Pushylin was an attempt to legitimize the representative of the Russian occupation administration in Donetsk.
Officially, Belarus did not recognize the terrorist organizations "DPR" and "LPR", but in July 2022, Lukashenka said that he "de facto recognized Crimea, Luhansk and Donetsk" and, if necessary, would issue a relevant decree.
WHY THIS IS IMPORTANT. "This is a deliberate provocation on the part of Lukashenka," Merezhko, head of the parliamentary foreign policy committee, told LIGA.net. "He could not help but realize what the reaction would be."
In his opinion, Lukashenka is "probing the soil" and looking at Ukraine's reaction.
Lukashenka's meeting with Pushylin deserves a more serious diplomatic reaction than just summoning the ambassador for consultations, Mykhailo Pashkov, co-director of foreign policy and international security programmes at Razumkov Centre, told LIGA.net.
"The policy of the Belarusian leadership is openly anti-Ukrainian," says Pashkov, noting that this is not the first demonstrably anti-Ukrainian move by Lukashenka.
Pashkov considers the decision to sever diplomatic relations with Belarus to be a logical reaction to Lukashenka's actions.
"If Ukraine took such a step with regard to Russia, then obviously by analogy it should be the same with Belarus, because Belarus is directly involved in the aggression. Not indirectly, not covertly, but directly," explains Pashkov.
In his opinion, Lukashenka is pushing Ukraine to such a decision.
WHAT'S NEXT. Ukraine does not want to permanently break the channel of possible communication with Belarus, Pashkov explains the position of the Ukrainian authorities.
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