Richard Randriamandranto, the foreign minister of Madagascar, was fired by President Andry Rajoelina without explanation a week after Madagascar voted at the UN to denounce Russia’s “illegal annexations” of Ukrainian land.
The president signed the repeal decree firing his minister on Tuesday, just before departing for an anticipated trip to Morocco. The directive, which was made public to the media, stated that “the Minister of Defense is in command of the interim.”
Despite being invited by the European Union and the US to denounce Russia for its invasion of Ukraine, Madagascar has chosen to remain neutral.
In contrast to Madagascar’s political stance from the start of the war, 142 other nations joined Madagascar in denouncing Russia’s “illegal annexations” in Ukraine on October 12.
The foreign minister was accused of making this choice without consulting the prime minister or the head of state in stories that were shown on the national TVM channel on Saturday.
The Malagasy press broke the news on Monday, accusing the minister of disobedience.
Additionally, Richard Randriamandranto declined to respond to press inquiries on Tuesday in the National Assembly, claiming that “we must not sow discord.
The minister “has just played the role of fuse to repair a diplomatic error,” according to Rivo Rakotovao, national coordinator of the HVM party, who represents the opposition.
