File photo of Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko (AFP).
Belarus expels the expected French ambassador for not receiving a stamp.
The AFP news agency reported
SLOTXOthat the French embassy in Minsk Belarus revealed that French ambassador Nicola de Lacoste was fired by the Belarusian government. Nicola must leave the country by October 18. A spokesman for the French embassy who announced the matter did not disclose the reason for the expulsion of the French ambassador. But according to local media reports in Belarus, Mr de Lacoste was pushed because he had never met Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, submitting his official position as head of the country. Instead, he sent a letter of credit to Belarusian Foreign Minister Vladimir Makei, which Lukashenko felt was offensive.
A spokeswoman for the French embassy said: “The Belarusian Ministry of Foreign Affairs wants the ambassador to leave the country before October 18, that is, Mr De Lacoste leaves Belarus today. He said goodbye to the embassy staff and recorded a video message to Belarusians that will be published on the embassy website tomorrow morning.”
France is like any other country. The EU's rejection of Lukashenko as president for a sixth term due to elections in August last year remains controversial.