The UN has officially apologized for the damage to the image of Belarus in connection with information about the purported illegal shipments of military aircraft in Côte d'Ivoire from Belarus. UN Under Secretary General for Peacekeeping Operations Alain Le Roy met with Charge d'Affaires of Belarus to the UN Zoya Kollontai on Wednesday, March 2 and said that UN experts had not yet determined exactly the state, having supplied those planes in Côte d'Ivoir.
In turn, Zoya Kollontai stated that an effective system of export controls on weapons was created in Belarus. She also assured the UN of Belarus’s commitments to the regime of UN sanctions, including embargo on military equipment in Ivory Coast, said the UN News Center.
As Telegraf previously reported, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon had formerly accused the Belarusian authorities of violation of the arms embargo, imposed on Cote d’Ivoire in 2004. According to the UN, February 27, Minsk illegally began to supply military helicopters to the armed groups, supporting the President of Côte d’Ivoire, Laurent Gbagbo, not recognized by the world community.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Belarus didn’t confirm this information. Head of Information Ministry of Belarus Andrei Savinykh said on February 28 that the West had unleashed «information war» against Belarus. The Government of the recognized President of Côte d’Ivoire, Laurent Gbagbo, denied information about the purported supply of military aircraft as well.
