The Prime Minister of Estonia did not see A. Lukashenka arriving during the photo session at COP28

According to the representatives, K. Kallas and the leaders of Latvia, Lithuania and Poland had previously decided together not to pose for a joint COP28 photo if A. Lukashenko was also present. K. Kall previously also canceled his participation in an event because he knew that Belarus would participate.

“In large events, logistics are very complicated and regulated. The organizers of COP28 allocated seats for the heads of state in the front rows and for the prime ministers in the back rows during the photo session. The leaders of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland went to the photo session together, Lukashenka was not there at that time. The organizers accompanied the heads of states and governments to the places assigned to them,” the statement said.

Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda with Latvian and Polish leaders Edgars Rinkevičius and Andrzej Duda boycotted a joint photo at the UN climate change meeting COP28, because the authoritarian leader of Belarus also posed for it.

“It would be hypocritical to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the head of the state that has become a bridgehead for Russia’s aggression against Ukraine and to discuss the future of the world and climate change nowhere. The Belarusian regime is contributing to the destruction of the future of the world and, together with Russia, is responsible for what is happening in Ukraine – from the deaths of people to the catastrophic impact on the environment,” G. Nausėda said in a comment transmitted by the president’s communication group to BNS.

“It’s called a family photo. Lukashenka does not belong to the family we want to belong to,” the president added.

“When the heads of state and government were lined up, the president of Belarus also appeared at the last minute. Standing in the first rows, the presidents of Latvia, Lithuania and Poland saw Lukashenko’s arrival and left. The Estonian Prime Minister, who was standing in the back rows among nearly 150 heads of state and government, did not see Lukashenka’s arrival or her colleagues’ exit and was […] was photographed,” the representatives of the Estonian government said.

Western countries accuse A. Lukashenka of allowing Russia to use the territory of Belarus as a bridgehead to attack Ukraine, allowing Moscow to deploy tactical nuclear weapons in the country.

Even before the war started by Russia in Ukraine in 2022, the authoritarian leader was condemned for dealing with the opposition, restricting democratic freedoms, and the influx of migrants to the eastern EU members.