Romania recalls ambassador to Belarus in solidarity with Lithuania, Poland

Romania's ambassador to Belarus, Viorel Moşanu, was recalled for consultations, foreign affairs minister Bogdan Aurescu announced on Friday, October 9, in a Twitter post.

The decision comes in solidarity with Lithuania and Poland, which also recalled their ambassadors this week after Belarus demanded the two countries reduce the staff of their missions over their “destructive” actions. Belarus also recalled its ambassadors to Vilnius and Warsaw.

“Belarus needs to understand that using diplomatic pressure on EU member states will not help dialogue and will not bring positive results,” Aurescu’s post reads.

We decided to recall our ambassador in #Belarus for consultations in solidarity with Lithuania🇱🇹 & Poland🇵🇱. #Belarus needs to understand that using diplomatic pressure on #EU Member States will not help dialogue and will not bring positive results.@RauZbigniew @LinkeviciusL — Bogdan Aurescu (@BogdanAurescu) October 9, 2020

Bulgaria, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Latvia, and Estonia also recalled their ambassadors.

“Belarus pressure on some EU member states to withdraw their ambassadors will not help end the present crisis, nor will affect the EU solidarity. Full support for EU decisions on Belarus,” Romania’s foreign affairs ministry wrote in a Twitter post earlier this week.

Last week, the EU imposed restrictive measures against 40 individuals identified as responsible for repression and intimidation against Belarus demonstrators and opposition members and for misconduct of the electoral process. The restrictive measures include a travel ban and an asset freeze.

#Belarus pressure on some