MINSK, 9 July (BelTA) – Belarus is seriously concerned about the politicization of the pandemic within the framework of the World Health Organization (WHO), about pressure on the organization and on individual countries, the press service of the Belarusian Ministry of Foreign Affairs told BelTA. The statement was made when the ministry was asked to comment on increasingly frequent contradictory statements by individual politicians and publicists regarding the origin of the coronavirus. BelTA wondered about the ministry's opinion about the reason and possible consequences of the conspiracy theories.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said: “Belarus closely follows discussions about the matter within the framework of the World Health Organization and takes an active part in the development of decisions. We believe that competent scientists instead of politicians or diplomats should give the answer to this question.”
According to the source, an international team of experts has been set up under the aegis of the World Health Organization to determine the source of the SARS-CoV-2 virus and its transmission mechanisms. The international experts visited China in early 2021. A report was prepared in March 2021 as a result of the mission. It contains conclusions and recommendations.
Some virus transmission mechanisms are identified as possible or quite probable. The probability of other transmission mechanisms is not ruled out but is close to zero. The experts noted the hypothesis claiming the virus was invented in a lab has an extremely low probability. The report notes that further scientific studies are necessary to identify sources and conditions of origin of the COVID-19 virus.
The Belarusian Ministry of Foreign Affairs pointed out that despite the experts' conclusions representatives of individual countries persistently circulate statements in international organizations and mass media in an attempt to disprove conclusions of the WHO mission, replace them with their own speculations, and enforce their point of view on the international community.
The Belarusian Ministry of Foreign Affairs continued: “Such attempts can negatively affect international cooperation for researching COVID-19 and can reduce the effectiveness of efforts meant to counteract its further spread. Belarus is seriously concerned about the politicization of the pandemic within the framework of the World Health Organization and about pressure on the organization and on individual countries. We see that the People's Republic of China has been interacting in an open and transparent manner with the World Health Organization since the first days of the coronavirus outbreak. China makes a tangible contribution to the development of vaccines and treatment methods.”
The Belarusian Ministry of Foreign Affairs described the coronavirus pandemic as a serious challenge for the modern world and the entire humankind: “Its political, economic, and social consequences have affected all of us. Only by working together under the World Health Organization's coordination will we be able to get rid of the current pandemic as well as future healthcare emergencies.”
