On August 17, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said that the transfer by Minsk of the detained Russian nationals allegedly linked to the private military company Wagner to Russia, despite the existence of all legal and moral grounds to transfer them to Ukraine, undermines trust between Belarus and the Ukrainian state and inflicts a heavy blow on bilateral relations.
To the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, after that Alexander Lukashenko repeatedly and completely groundlessly accused Ukraine of unfriendly steps against Belarus.
“Qualitatively new threats to both the personal safety of citizens and regional security in general follow from official reports on the possible active involvement of Russia and the Collective Security Treaty Organization in resolving the situation in Belarus,” the message reads.
The combination of these facts and actions, as well as the development of events in Belarus, whose society has expressed a vote of no confidence in the official results of the presidential elections in Belarus, radically changes the situation in Belarusian-Ukrainian relations.
“Taking this into account, I decided to summon the Ambassador of Ukraine to Belarus Ihor Kyzym for consultations in Kyiv to assess the prospects of Belarusian-Ukrainian relations in the new reality that has developed, to make appropriate decisions, taking into account the entire range of factors. This is the first time in history that we have resorted to such a step in relations with Belarus, and we do it exclusively because of the unacceptable actions of Minsk. I assure you that we will toughly defend our national interests. At the same time, the ambassador’s summons for consultations will in no way affect our ability to ensure the rights and legitimate interests of Ukrainian citizens in Belarus,” Kuleba said.
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