Belarus confirms visit by senior French diplomat to capital

By Alperen Aktas

ISTANBUL (AA) - Belarus on Thursday confirmed that a senior French Foreign Ministry official visited Minsk earlier this month.

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Ruslan Varankov said such visits are not unusual and noted that Minsk maintains regular working-level contacts with France and other Western countries.

He confirmed that Brice Roquefeuil, director for Continental Europe at the Political and Security Affairs Directorate of the French Foreign Ministry, was in Minsk on Feb. 5-6 at the invitation of the Belarusian side.

During the visit, Roquefeuil met Deputy Foreign Minister Igor Sekreta and also held consultations with representatives of the Belarusian expert and analytical community.

Varankov said dialogue conducted both through bilateral channels and on the sidelines of multilateral events often remains confidential in nature.

He added that Belarus remains open to equal dialogue based on mutual respect and aimed at finding solutions of common interest.

The confirmation came after French daily Le Monde reported that a high-ranking French official had visited Minsk last week, without official comment at the time from Belarusian authorities.

Earlier, France also sent an official to Russia to meet Kremlin aide Yury Ushakov.

French President Emmanuel Macron maintains communication with Russia is necessary to negotiate the end of Ukraine war.