Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda and the leaders of Latvia and Poland sat out a joint photo at the United Nations Climate Change Conference COP28 in Dubai on Friday because authoritarian Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko posed for it.
“It would be hypocritical to stand shoulder to shoulder with the leader of a country that has become a staging ground for Russia’s aggression against Ukraine,” Nausėda said in a statement.
“The Belarusian regime is contributing to the destruction of the world’s future and, together with Russia, is responsible for what is happening in Ukraine, from the loss of human lives to the catastrophic impact on the environment,” he added. “This is called a family photo. Lukashenko is not part of the family we want to belong to.”
Nausėda’s boycott was joined by Latvian President Edgars Rinkēvičs and Polish President Andrzej Duda.
Western countries accuse Lukashenko of allowing Russia to use Belarusian territory as a staging ground for an attack on Ukraine.
Even before the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the Belarusian leader was condemned for the crackdown on the opposition and the erosion of democratic freedoms. His regime was also accused of orchestrating a migrant influx into Lithuania, Latvia, and Poland, which the countries called a “hybrid attack”.
Nausėda is scheduled to deliver a speech at the COP28 later on Friday. On the sidelines of the climate conference, he will also hold bilateral meetings with other heads of state.
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