Belarus leader’s visit to Latvia delayed for indefinite period - media


Alyaksandr Lukashenka’s visit to Riga which was allegedly scheduled for May, has been postponed indefinitely, Latvian media outlets report.

According to Bb.lv, the visit might have been cancelled due to variuos reasons, including the deterioration of Minsk-Moscow relations or the feasibility of change in power after the upcoming parliamentary elections in Latvia.

The elections do adjust the plans, Latvia’s Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkevics told television channel TV3.

“In addition, the question is what will happen during our own elections in late May and June. So, I cannot say when the visit will take place, but the invitation really exists,” he said.

The Belarusian leader’s arrival seems to have been long awaited in Riga; as far back as 2017, Latvia’s Ambassador to Belarus stated that Alyaksandr Lukashenka had been invited to Riga twice.

In February 2018, the Latvian side invited Belarus to participate in June’s EU nuclear safety meeting in Riga.

“We have an invitation for Belarus, personally for the president,” Andrejs Pildegovics, the State Secretary of Latvia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said.

In July 2018, Mr Rinkevics confirmed that Lukashenka’s visit was in the making; Belarusian Foreign Minister Uladzimir Makey noted that Minsk was interested in it.

However, Lukashenka has not visited Riga yet.

News
Vienna yes, Warsaw unlikely: Lukashenka accepts Kurz’s invitation
2019.04.01 10:46

ІІ belsat.eu

TWITTER