Opinions & Interviews

Lukashenko dismisses media reports on Belarus sending troops to Syria as fake news

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MINSK, 8 February (BelTA) – Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko commented on media reports on Belarus sending troops to Syria as he hosted a session of the Security Council on 8 February, BelTA has learned.

"Yesterday they reported that the Russian government allegedly decided to send our military to Syria. It was news to me. You understand that under the current laws, only the president can make such decisions. But I didn't send anyone there. The only thing that was ever discussed (and it has been on the agenda for a long time) was sending doctors there. This is what the Syrian leader, the Syrian government asked us to help them with. I suggested that if some of our doctors are willing, primarily from among the military, they may go there. But not now. Because we have enough problems of our own. This so-called pandemic is not yet over," the head of state said. “Kochanova and Kukharev [President’s Authorized Representative in Minsk, Speaker of the Council of the Republic Natalya Kochanova and Minsk Mayor Vladimir Kukharev] are struggling with the influenza surge in Minsk. Therefore, we cannot help the Syrians even with doctors now, considering the circumstances. There are no active hostilities there, but still we cannot."

“No, we are not going to send our military there to fight ... We have nothing to do there. I emphasize once again: we will help with doctors if needed. Exclusively on a voluntary basis and only after our own hospitals cope with increased patient demand. They have started to play it up in the media saying that “the Russian government made a decision”. What we really discussed with the Russian government was Russia’s backup in the event we would send someone there. For example, if it is about working in a hospital, we would like to work with the Russians, they have a lot of experience. That is it,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said.

TASS reported on 7 February that the Russian government approved a draft agreement on the deployment of Belarus’ humanitarian military contingent in Syria. The Russian government “approved the draft agreement between the government of the Russian Federation and the government of the Republic of Belarus on cooperation in providing humanitarian assistance to the Syrian Arab Republic. The document was previously discussed with the Belarusian side, presented by the Russian Ministry of Defense and agreed with the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and other interested federal executive bodies, the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation, the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation,” reads the document signed by Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin on 3 February 2022.

The Russian government “instructed the Russian Ministry of Defense and the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs to hold talks with the Belarusian side, and upon reaching an agreement, to sign the document on behalf of the Russian government. Insignificant changes can be made to the draft document provided they are not of a fundamental nature”, the document reads.

The document governs the participation of the Belarusian military contingent in missions to provide humanitarian assistance to the Syrian Arab Republic. In line with the document, “the Belarusian military contingent will be involved in exclusively humanitarian activities outside the combat zone.”

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