Фото: t.me/BelarusMFA
The Belarusian Foreign Ministry said that Foreign Minister Maksim Ryzhankou was unable to take part in the inaugural session of the Peace Council on February 19, 2026, due to the failure to issue visas to the Belarusian delegation.
According to the ministry, the Belarusian side had informed the event organizers in advance that, by decision of Aliaksandr Lukashenka, the country would be represented at the session by the foreign minister. The ministry said the relevant notifications had been sent to U.S. protocol services in the established manner, and visa documents were submitted well in advance.
“However, despite our full compliance with all required procedures, visas for our delegation were not issued. In this situation, a logical question arises: what kind of peace and what kind of consistency can be discussed if even the basic formalities for our participation were not fulfilled by the organizers? After all, the initial invitation to participate in the Peace Council session from the President of the United States was addressed to the Head of the Belarusian State. Further comments are unnecessary,” the ministry said in a statement.
On February 11, Lukashenka said he would not travel to the Peace Council in the United States because he had received the invitation late, when his schedule had already been finalized. On February 19, he met in Minsk with Chairperson of the Senate of Zimbabwe Mabel Memory Chinomona. Another reason he cited for not traveling to the United States was logistical difficulties due to European Union sanctions.
Later, Lukashenka dismissed speculation that he had allegedly been barred from flying to the Peace Council by Vladimir Putin. He added that Belarus did not intend to allocate billions to Gaza and said he would like to attend other sessions of the council “not in Washington, somewhere in Europe or the Middle East, perhaps in Israel, closer here in Turkey,” when the issue of Ukraine is discussed.
Lukashenka’s press secretary, Natallia Eismant, said Belarus would be represented in Washington by Ryzhankou.
However, instead of attending the first session of the Peace Council in Washington, the foreign minister took part in a literary evening in Minsk dedicated to International Mother Language Day and the Year of the Belarusian Woman.