President of Belarus will not attend World War II commemoration in Poland out of solidarity with Putin
Polish newspaper Rzeczpospolita reported why the President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko refused Poland’s invitations to take in commemorative events dedicated to 80th anniversary of the beginning of the World War II.
According to the newspapers source in Minsk, by not going to Poland, Lukashenko expressed solidarity with Russian President Vladimir Putin, who was not invited by Polish President Andrzej Duda.
Instead of Lakashenko, the Belarusian Ambassador to Poland will participate in these commemorative events.
At the same time, Lukashenko's administration refused to comment on this information and expressed gratitude to the Polish authorities for the invitation.
U.S. President Donald Trump, German Chancellor Angela Merkel as well as the Ukrainian delegation will attend events in Poland on September 1.
Earlier, the Polish authorities called it inappropriate to "celebrate the anniversary of the armed aggression against Poland with the participation of the leader, who today acts the same way towards his neighbor."