French Ambassador to Belarus Nicolas de Bouillane de Lacoste left the country after Minsk asked him to do so before Monday, an embassy spokeswoman said on Sunday.
The latter did not explain the reason given by the Belarusian Foreign Ministry for requesting the departure of the ambassador.
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"The Belarusian Foreign Ministry has requested that the ambassador leave before October 18,"
she said.
“
Ambassador Nicolas de Lacoste left Belarus today,”
she added.
"He said goodbye to the embassy staff and sent a video message addressed to the Belarusian people, which will appear tomorrow on the embassy's website,"
she said.
Sanctions against the plan
According to Belarusian media, the ambassador never presented his credentials to President Alexander Lukashenko. France, like other countries of the European Union, has not recognized the results of the presidential election last August, which granted a sixth term to Alexander Lukashenko and sparked massive protests for several months. and unprecedented in this former Soviet republic, an ally of Vladimir Putin's Russia.
The European Union adopted a series of sanctions against the Belarusian regime after the crackdown on opponents of Lukashenko.
The Belarusian authorities succeeded in putting an end to the demonstrations, imprisoning hundreds of opponents and shutting down dozens of media and NGOs.
Opposition leaders have all been jailed or forced into exile.