The gay prime minister of Luxembourg called out leaders of several countries that ban homosexuality at the world’s first Arab League-European Union summit.

Earlier this week at a conference room in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, Luxembourg’s Prime Minister Xavier Bettel denounced anti-LGBTQ laws and violence.

According to a member of Bettel’s cabinet who was present at the meeting, he “said that he was gay and that the fact that he is married to a man could get him the death penalty in a number of countries represented at the table.”

Related: Egypt’s gay community goes deeper underground, fearing crackdown

Der Spiegel‘s Stefan Leifert said that Bettel’s speech elicited “icy silence” from some people who were present and “silent joy” from others.

Geschichten, die der #EUArabischeLigaGipfel schrieb: Luxemburgs Premierminister @Xavier_Bettel konfrontiert die Runde damit, dass er mit einem Mann verheiratet ist und in vielen der anwesenden Länder vom Tod bedroht wäre. Eisiges Schweigen bei den einen,stille Freude den anderen. — Stefan Leifert (@StefanLeifert) February 27, 2019

Bettel responded on Twitter: “Saying nothing was not an option.”

Nichts sagen war für mich keine Option.XB https://t.co/g19bc88V1H — Xavier Bettel (@Xavier_Bettel) February 27, 2019

The summit was attended by several countries where homosexuality is banned, including Algeria, Morocco, Oman, Tunisia, Syria, Kuwait, and the United Arab Emirates.

In three countries that were present – Saudi Arabia, Sudan, and Yemen – gay people can be sentenced to death.

While Egypt, where the conference was held, does not formally ban homosexuality, LGBTQ people have been arrested under indecency laws.

Human Rights Watch has said that Egypt’s president supports “persecution of gays and trans people as a political strategy.”

EU leaders said that the summit was a success and the summit’s declaration mentions support for “all aspects of internal human rights law.” The Arab League leaders, though, insisted that a reference to freedom of expression be dropped from the declaration.

The declaration does not mention LGBTQ issues at all.

Bettel is the first modern world leader married to someone of the same sex and the first gay prime minister in the world to win a second term.

He married his husband Gauthier Destenay in 2015, after marriage equality was recognized in Luxembourg.