Belarusian Ambassador to Slovakia Igor Leshchenya submitted his resignation on Aug. 18, two days after he declared solidarity with protests against alleged election fraud by Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, according to Belarusian news website TUT.BY.
“I did resign. This is a logical step, because, as an ambassador, I am appointed by the current president, and it is expected that I should carry out the policy defined by him. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (of Belarus) considers that the civil position expressed in my statement crossed this line,” Leshchenya told TUT.BY.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Belarus says that the president, who appointed the ambassador, will make the final call about his resignation. Lukashenko did not sign a decree on the ambassador’s resignation yet, according to the Belarusian news website.
On Aug. 16, Leshchenya published a video expressing solidarity with opposition protesters.
“Like all Belarusians, I am shocked by the stories of torture and beatings of my country’s citizens,” he said.
He claimed that hundreds of citizens felt that law enforcement officers had fully restored the traditions of the Soviet Union’s interior ministry inside today’s Belarus.
Lukashenko appointed Leshchenya as the Belarusian ambassador to Slovakia in 2016. Previously, from 2002 to 2006, he worked as an aide to the president on foreign policy and economic affairs.
Ukrainians have expressed solidarity with Belarusians protesting against Lukashenko’s 26-year dictatorship. On Aug. 14, approximately 100 activists came to the Belarusian Embassy in Kyiv to support the victims of political repression in Belarus.
Moreover, Ukraine withdrew its ambassador from Belarus in protest of the transfer of detained Wagner Group mercenaries to Russia, despite Ukraine’s request for extradition. Many of the mercenaries had allegedly fought against Ukraine in the Donbas.
Belarus held its sixth presidential election on Aug. 9. The main candidates were Lukashenko and Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, the wife of political blogger Sergei Tikhanovsky who was jailed and prevented from running as a presidential candidate himself. According to official data, Lukashenko won over 80% of the vote, whereas Tikhanovskaya only received slightly over 10%. However, according to an unofficial count, Tikhanovskaya won the majority.
