Foreign Minister Uladzimir Makey will represent Belarus at the Fourth Eastern Partnership Summit in Riga on May 21 and 22, Dzmitry Mironchyk, spokesman for the Belarusian foreign ministry, told BelaPAN.
It is Alyaksandr Lukashenka who chose the foreign minister to lead Belarus' delegation to the event, said Mr. Mironchyk.
While visiting Belarus this past February, Latvian Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkevics said that Riga would like all countries participating in the European Union’s Eastern Partnership program to be represented at the summit at the highest level.
In mid-March, Latvian Ambassador Mihails Popkovs told BelaPAN that it was up to the Eastern Partnership countries to decide on the level of their participation in the summit.
Mr. Makey represented Belarus at the Third Eastern Partnership Summit in Vilnius in November 2013.
Since 2011, Mr. Lukashenka has been banned from entering the EU for ordering a post-election crackdown on his opponents.
