Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has ordered the government to agree with Ukraine on providing the green corridor for Hasidic pilgrims, who cannot get from Belarus to their destination point, that is, the holy sites in Ukraine.
“The Belarusian president has ordered our government to urgently get in touch with the Ukrainian government and agree on the provision of the green corridor for the Hasidim,” the BelTA state-run news agency quoted Belarusian presidential spokesperson Natalya Eismont as saying to reporters on Tuesday.
“Belarus is ready to provide transport, for instance, buses, for the delivery of these pilgrims to and from their destination point, that is, Ukrainian shrines, and then, to the airport for a flight back to their homeland,” she said. “Our country is willing to perform all of these functions,” Eismont said.
The Belarusian side guarantees “the process be organized absolutely safely, in particular, so that this will not affect the Covid-19 incidence situation,” she said.
As reported, hundreds of Hasidic pilgrims wishing to get to Ukraine’s Uman city to celebrate Rosh Hashanah have gathered near the Novi Yarylovychi-Novaya Guta checkpoint.
Belarusian border guards let the pilgrims out of the country, but they were not allowed to enter the territory of Ukraine due to the restrictions on foreign citizens and stateless persons’ entry into the country imposed in order to counter the coronavirus spread.
The Belarusian State Border Committee said earlier on Tuesday that more than 700 people, including over 100 children, have gathered at the Novi Yarylovychi-Novaya Guta checkpoint in anticipation of being allowed to enter Ukraine.
Meanwhile, the Belarusian Society of the Red Cross has said that it had transferred rapid response teams to the scene.
