Britain has expelled two Belarusian diplomats "in response to the unjustified expulsion" of two British diplomats by Belarus yesterday, British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab has announced.
"Today, we have expelled 2 Belarusian diplomats in response to the unjustified expulsion of (British) diplomats," Mr Raab tweeted.
"The UK will not be cowed by the attempts of Lukashenko's regime to stop us speaking out about the rigged election & the despicable violence against the Belarusian people."
Earlier a spokesman for Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the ambassador of Belarus had been summoned to the foreign office.
Yesterday, Belarus declared two British diplomats persona non grata, Russian RIA news agency reported citing Belarus' foreign ministry.
It said the decision was taken due to diplomats' "destructive activity".
The UK will not be cowed by the attempts of Lukashenko's regime to stop us speaking out about the rigged election & the despicable violence against the Belarusian people. Today, we have expelled 2 Belarusian diplomats in response to the unjustified expulsion of 🇬🇧 diplomats.
— Dominic Raab (@DominicRaab) November 10, 2020
The British foreign office, however, said the two envoys had been ordered to leave the country after "legitimately" observing protests against the disputed re-election of President Alexander Lukashenko.
The UK called for a fresh presidential election in Belarus following the "despicable" actions of Mr Lukashenko.
In recent days Mr Raab highlighted findings by the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) which he said "exposed the fraud at the heart of the presidential elections" in August.
The UK has already imposed sanctions on Mr Lukashenko and his allies following the election and the brutal crackdown on protests.
The foreign office said the OSCE report found overwhelming evidence that the elections were falsified and "massive and systematic" human rights.
