French ambassador exits after Minsk order

The French ambassador to Belarus has left the country after Minsk ordered him to leave by Monday, the French embassy confirmed.

Nicolas de Lacoste, the 57-year-old French ambassador, was sent to Minsk late last year.

"The Belarusian Foreign Ministry demanded that the ambassador leave before Oct 18," said the embassy spokeswoman to Agence France-Presse.

The spokeswoman did not say why the Belarusian authorities demanded him to leave the country. But according to reports in the Belarusian media, Lacoste had not met President Alexander Lukashenko to give him copies of his credentials.

Instead, he handed them over to Belarusian Foreign Minister Vladimir Makei, according to the French embassy. The authorities in Minsk took that as a snub.

Meanwhile, the French embassy had noted on its website that Lacoste on Wednesday hosted representatives of the recently banned nongovernmental organization Govori Pravdu, including its co-leader Andrey Dmitriev, a candidate in last year's presidential elections.

The French embassy, Belarusian and French foreign ministries were not available for comment.

Like other countries in the European Union, France has not recognized Lukashenko's claim to a sixth presidential term after the elections.

The EU has repeatedly said it does not consider the August 2020 elections to have been "free and fair" and has imposed sanctions on Lukashenko's government.

Despite Western sanctions, Lukashenko has so far dismissed all attempts to oust him. He also received support from President Vladimir Putin, his ally in Moscow.

Russian state news agency quoted Belarusian politician Natalia Kochanova last Thursday as saying that external efforts to destabilize the situation in Belarus have continued and are becoming increasingly sophisticated.

Kochanova said a "large-scale and intensive hybrid war has been declared against Belarus, including via social networks".

Lukashenko has responded by accusing European governments of having instigated protests in his country, and has cut ties with a number of Western nations in recent months.

In March, it expelled the entire staff of the Latvian embassy, including the ambassador, after Latvian authorities used a Belarusian opposition flag at an ice hockey championship.

And in August, Minsk revoked consent for the appointment of the United States' ambassador Julie Fisher, who in December had been confirmed as the first US envoy to the country since 2008.