Вячорка и Рыженков в кулуарах ООН. Фото: @viachorka
Chief adviser to Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya Franak Viačorka described on Facebook a brief conversation with Belarusian Foreign Minister Maksim Ryzhankou on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly. According to Viačorka, the minister initially approached him with his hand extended but then refused to shake hands.
Viačorka described the episode while commenting on Ryzhankou’s statement that Minsk “did not stand with its hand outstretched.”
“I walked toward him ‘with my hand outstretched,’ and he eagerly came toward me, also with his hand outstretched, until he realized what was happening half a meter away — apparently he recognized me and got scared,” Viačorka wrote.
“Belarusians do not get a hand extended to them,” the author of the post commented on the refusal to shake hands.
According to Viačorka, Ryzhankou exclaimed: “Beggar!” The minister refused to meet with him, then spent another minute or two talking about the “outstretched hand” and ended his monologue with the words: “Get a bigger hat.”
Viačorka also wrote that Ryzhankou and his colleague walked around the sidelines together. “They are not known, not recognized, and not particularly liked either,” he said, describing the attitude toward representatives of the Minsk regime.
In the comments to the post, Viačorka added that former Foreign Minister Siarhei Aleinik was “more open,” while Uladzimir Makey “actually responded to ‘Long Live Belarus!’” In Tsikhanouskaya’s adviser’s assessment, Ryzhankou appears to be “the most pro-Russian, no matter how much he tries to show otherwise.”
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Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya’s visit to New York took place on September 21–24, 2026.