The appointment on July 16 of Hadja Lahbib, a former television presenter, as Minister of Foreign Affairs raised some eyebrows in Belgium. She is now caught in the center of a controversy: to produce a report when she was a journalist, she went to Crimea with a Russian visa.
With our correspondent in Brussels, Pierre Benazet
For a few days, the new Belgian Foreign Minister multiplies declarations of support for Ukraine, reaffirms Crimea’s membership of Ukraine, appears at events in the colors of Ukraine…
His position seems to be part of the current attributions of a minister of the European Union, but the controversy settles. She is now singled out in kyiv for having traveled to occupied Crimea for a report via Moscow, which is illegal in the eyes of Ukraine.
According to his statements at the time, Hadja Lahbib traveled to Crimea in 2021 with a Russian visa. For the needs of a documentary, she was invited to a festival organized by “Russian Seasons”who would also have paid for the trip.
“Propaganda” trip, according to Belgian media
The Belgian media point out that this organization is “ a Russian government propaganda initiative sponsored by Gazprom » and that the daughter of Vladimir Putin participates in the organization of the festival.
The report from this trip is accused of giving voice only to pro-Russians. On social networks, it is pointed out that before his appointment, his CV spoke on this subject of a “ trip to russia “. From there to accusing the new minister of having endorsed the Russian occupation, there is only one step.
And the Belgian political culture also has great difficulty in accepting the existence of unelected ministers, which is obviously the case of Hadja Lahbib, a novice in politics. A ministerial portfolio is seen in Belgium as the culmination of a career as a deputy, a reserved career in a way. Her Crimean trip will perhaps be the pretext that some in the Belgian Parliament have been waiting for to attack the new Minister of Foreign Affairs.
For its part, the Ukrainian government recalls that only entry into Crimea through Ukrainian territory is legal. He nevertheless wants to wait to have received details on this press trip to assess the request of the Belgian minister who wishes to go to Ukraine.