'Lukashenko does not belong to family...': Three presidents boycott photo at COP28 over Belarusian strongman

The presidents of Poland, Latvia, and Lithuania refused to join world leaders for a family photo at the COP28 climate meeting on Friday due to the attendance of Belarusian autocrat Alexander Lukashenko. Accused by the European Union of repressing the Belarusian opposition and siding with Russia, Lukashenko joined the heads of state and government that convened in Dubai for the UN climate conference. The leaders of Lithuania, Latvia and Poland - all staunch supporters of Ukraine as it fights off Russian aggression - cited Lukashenko’s presence as reason for boycotting the traditional opening photograph at COP28. “This is called a family photo. Lukashenko does not belong to the family which we want to be a part of,” AFP quoted Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda as saying in a statement. “It would be hypocritical to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the head of state that has become a staging ground for Russia’s aggression against Ukraine and to discuss the future of the world and climate change as if nothing happened,” Nauseda added. Lithuania and its fellow Baltic state Latvia, former Soviet republics, are among the most vocal critics of Russia and the Kremlin and proponents of increased military aid to Kyiv. Both countries as well as Poland have accused the authorities in Minsk of orchestrating an influx of migrants trying to cross into the EU in an attempt to destabilise the region. With inputs from agencies