Ukraine recalls ambassador to Belarus amid ongoing unrest in nation

Amid ongoing unrest prevailing in Belarus over disputed elections, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said on Monday, August 17 that he had recalled the ambassador to Belarus Ihor Kyzym for discussions to assess the future prospects of bilateral relations between the two neighbours keeping in mind the ‘new reality’. The Ukrainian foreign minister said in a statement that the events in the Eastern European nation are ‘fundamentally changing’ the situation in the relations between both the nations. 

This comes just days after the foreign ministers of the Lubin Triangle States including Lithuania, Poland and Ukraine released a joint statement about being ‘deeply concerned’ with the situation in Belarus after the elections declared Alexander Lukashenko as Belarusian president which according to the opposition was ‘rigged’, further triggering demonstrations calling for democracy. Additionally, the states also talked about the refrain of the use of force and release of the detained protesters. 

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The August 10 statement read, “As Foreign Ministers of Lublin Triangle States, we are deeply concerned with escalation of the situation in Belarus after the presidential elections and call upon the authorities to refrain from the use of force and to release all those detained last night.” 

Meanwhile, after denying the possibility of a rerun of votes for several days, Belurasian president on Monday, August 17 said that he is ready to share his leadership. He also noted that his change of the decision was not based on the pressure from the protesters because according to Lukashenko, they are acting on the foreign powers.

The US official also reportedly said that Belarusian leader’s comments reflect the realisation of government acknowledging the public’s demands. However, the official added that sharing power still does not address the lack of fair elections. 

Read - Belarus President Lukashenko Says He Is Ready To Share Power As Protests Intensify

Belarus Elections

Lukashenko on August 10 had secured yet another term as the country's president after the authorities announced the preliminary results in which the 65-year-old former Soviet Army member allegedly secured over 80 per cent of the total votes polled. Opposition leaders, including the main challenger Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya denounced the outcome and called it a rigged election before fleeing the nation with her family to take exile in Lithuania.

Read - Protests Resume In Belarus Demanding President To Resign

Meanwhile, United States President Donald Trump has acknowledged the “terrible situation” in the European nation. According to international media reports, the United States believes that the Belarusian president who secured his sixth term in the office, Alexander Lukashenko ‘can no longer ignore’ the calls of democracy by thousands of demonstrators.

Read - EU Calls Summit On Belarus; Striking Workers March

Read - German President Urges Military In Belarus To Refrain From Using Violence

Image: AP