MINSK, 23 March (BelTA) - The country continues to provide different kind of assistance to Belarusian citizens who are having difficulty returning home from overseas, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Belarus said on its official Facebook page, BelTA has learned.
“To date, help has been provided to more than 3,400 compatriots by the government bodies and Belavia air carrier. Among them was a group of children with chaperones who holidayed in Jurmala, a sports delegation from Moldova, four Belarusians from the Costa Pacifica cruise liner,” the ministry said.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs stressed that they view the current situation as a common challenge and does not refuse to help people from other countries if possible. There are many such examples.
According to the ministry's estimates, several thousand more citizens of Belarus may potentially need assistance with returning home in the near future.
“The process is underway. Most of the pressing issues have already been resolved. We have established the system of bringing our citizens from Egypt. Citizens from Thailand are being brought back home together with Russia. Evacuation from Morocco is being worked out. Belarusians are being brought back from Montenegro. The Pulkovo airport has been included in the transit scheme through Russia. The issues with Lithuania, Poland and Ukraine are being settled constructively,” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.
The Russian government has issued a new resolution to open an “organized land transit” for citizens of CIS countries (including Belarus) en-route to their homelands. "In this respect we are working in close contact with the Russian side and with active participation of the Russian ambassador to Belarus and diplomats to identify the mechanisms for such transit as soon as possible," the ministry said.
“A meeting was held in the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs to consider additional options for our citizens arriving at Vnukovo airport to reach Belarus. The matter concerns the possibility of their transit from Domodedovo and Sheremetyevo airports, and also their ground transportation home. The transport of the Belarusian embassy in Russia is viewed as an option to deliver citizens to the airports. We are working together with the Russian side on finalizing the algorithms to implement the plans,” the report reads.
According to the ministry, the situation with Belarusian tourists stranded in India, Goa remains unresolved. Belarus keep in close touch with Russia on the matter as Belarusian citizens used the Russian air carriers to get there. Working meetings were held at the level of the Transport Ministry and the Federal Air Transport Agency of Russia to find ways out of the situation. Various options are being considered, including the possibility of additional flights.
“We expect to find a solution together in the next few days. We call to monitor relevant information which is constantly updated on the websites of Belarusian foreign institutions and social networks, including the Ministry of Foreign Affairs,” the ministry said.
