Belarus, Russia urge UNESCO to move away from destructive politicisation

The Republic of Belarus and the Russian Federation actively co-operate within the framework of UNESCO programmes and urge not to politicise the organisation's activities – as stated in the greeting of the Ambassador of Belarus to Russia, Dmitry Krutoi, on the occasion of the opening of a photo-documentary exhibition from the archives of the Russian Foreign Ministry and the TASS news agency, dedicated to the 70th anniversary of the signing of the UNESCO Charter by the Soviet Union's Ambassador to the United Kingdom, Yakov Malik. The greeting at the event was announced by the Counsellor-Envoy of the Embassy of Belarus in Russia, Darya Shmanai, sb.by reports with reference to the press service of the Embassy of Belarus in Russia.

“The Republic of Belarus, together with the Russian Federation, consistently calls for moving away from the destructive politicisation of the organisation's activities that we are witnessing today and returning to constructive interaction in the spirit of the UNESCO Charter to strengthen peace and international security,” the ambassador's greeting reads.

It also emphasised that 2024 is an anniversary year for the Republic of Belarus, which joined UNESCO in 1954. 

“We highly appreciate our close, time-tested, open, and trust-based co-operation in the organisation. Along with traditional spheres, Belarus and Russia successfully co-operate within the framework of the most relevant UNESCO programmes – the Man and the Biosphere (MAB) and the Information for All Programme (IFAP) – that meet the challenges of today, as well as in the areas of bioethics and ethics of artificial intelligence. We attach particular importance to the common efforts to preserve historical memory and counteract the intentions to rewrite the history of WWII. We are ready to actively work on a joint application for inclusion in the UNESCO World Heritage List of the Brest Fortress Hero Memorial Complex and To the Heroes of the Battle of Stalingrad monument-ensemble on Mamayev Kurgan,” the ambassador's greeting states.