Belarusian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergei Aleinik called the accusations of Belarus in “supporting aggression” in connection with the conflict in Ukraine utter absurdity as he spoke at a meeting of the UN Security Council, BelTA has learned.
“The accusations of Belarus in ‘supporting aggression' look completely absurd. I remind that three rounds of Russian-Ukrainian peace talks were held in our country last year,” the minister said.
In his words, since March 2022 Belarus has been freely accepting Ukrainians and all foreign citizens fleeing the hostilities in Ukraine. These people were provided and are continued to be provided with the necessary assistance, including humanitarian aid, immediately upon arrival. “By a special decision of the country's leadership, they have virtually equal rights as our citizens. Has any Western country adopted similar decisions?!” Sergei Aleinik asked a rhetorical question. “Since late February 2022, about 120,000 Ukrainian refugees have arrived in Belarus. This is almost 1.5% of the population of our country! Do you think, these people, feeling aggression from us, would voluntarily come to Belarus? The answer is obvious and clear.”
According to the minister, Belarus has borne this burden independently, and yet instead of assistance, the only thing the country receives is illegitimate sanctions from the West.
“We have officially extended an invitation to the UN secretary general to visit Belarus personally or to send his representatives to study the situation on the ground. Our borders are open and we are open to constructive cooperation,” Sergei Aleinik said.
