Valentin Rybakov
MINSK, 11 February (BelTA) – The USA’s decisions to withdraw from a number of UN agencies will have a negative impact on the organization's activities, Belarus' Permanent Representative to the UN Valentin Rybakov told reporters, BelTA has learned.
Commenting on the recent decisions of US President Donald Trump to withdraw from a number of UN structures, the permanent representative of Belarus noted that it is difficult to say to what extent this will affect the organization, but the impact will be negative.
“Since these decisions have been made relatively recently, I am not yet ready to assess direct damage. Still, the decisions that were announced (on withdrawal from some agencies, on termination or reduction of funding) will, of course, affect the organization's work. Definitely. Money does not decide everything, but it decides a lot,” Valentin Rybakov said.
“As for our interaction with the Americans at the United Nations, we are successfully performing our tasks, interacting with our counterparts. We are not rebuffed, there are no big or unsolvable problems,” the diplomat emphasized.
As noted by the media, Washington remains one of the main sponsors of the UN. In 2022, its contributions amounted to more than a third of the organization's total budget. Back in May 2020, during his first term as US president, Donald Trump announced that Washington was going to completely cut off relations with the World Health Organization (WHO), since its leadership refused to carry out the reforms that the US administration insisted on. In July of the same year, the US Congress received notification from the American president that the United States was officially withdrawing from the organization. However, the next US president, Joe Biden, reversed Trump's decision after taking office in 2021.
In early 2025, after winning the election, Donald Trump signed executive orders to withdraw from the WHO, the UN Human Rights Council, and to stop funding the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA). In addition, the US president ordered a review of the advisability of the country’ sparticipation in UNESCO.
Commenting on the recent decisions of US President Donald Trump to withdraw from a number of UN structures, the permanent representative of Belarus noted that it is difficult to say to what extent this will affect the organization, but the impact will be negative.
“Since these decisions have been made relatively recently, I am not yet ready to assess direct damage. Still, the decisions that were announced (on withdrawal from some agencies, on termination or reduction of funding) will, of course, affect the organization's work. Definitely. Money does not decide everything, but it decides a lot,” Valentin Rybakov said.
“As for our interaction with the Americans at the United Nations, we are successfully performing our tasks, interacting with our counterparts. We are not rebuffed, there are no big or unsolvable problems,” the diplomat emphasized.
As noted by the media, Washington remains one of the main sponsors of the UN. In 2022, its contributions amounted to more than a third of the organization's total budget. Back in May 2020, during his first term as US president, Donald Trump announced that Washington was going to completely cut off relations with the World Health Organization (WHO), since its leadership refused to carry out the reforms that the US administration insisted on. In July of the same year, the US Congress received notification from the American president that the United States was officially withdrawing from the organization. However, the next US president, Joe Biden, reversed Trump's decision after taking office in 2021.
In early 2025, after winning the election, Donald Trump signed executive orders to withdraw from the WHO, the UN Human Rights Council, and to stop funding the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA). In addition, the US president ordered a review of the advisability of the country’ sparticipation in UNESCO.
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