After coming under strong criticism for her role in issuing visas to an Iranian delegation last week, Foreign Affairs Minister Hadja Lahbib will represent Belgium at the European Council of Foreign Ministers scheduled for Monday in Luxembourg.
The situation in Russia in the wake of the rebellion – subsequently called off – by Wagner militia leader Yevgeny Prigozhin against regular Russian troops, will be at the centre of discussions.
Prime Minister Alexander De Croo said on Sunday after a meeting of the National Security Council (NSC) that “It is important that our country is represented at this meeting” where a European position must be defined. “We cannot afford an empty chair policy.”
“But it is also important that trust is restored with parliamentarians”, the Prime Minister continued, assuring that Hadja Lahbib would indeed be present in the afternoon at the House Foreign Relations Committee, where she would be subjected to a new salvo of questions on the visa issue.
