President Joseph Aoun (right), receives a Belarusian delegation led by Deputy Prime Minister Viktor Karankevich (left) on Wednesday, June 11. Photo published on the Lebanese presidency's X account.
BEIRUT — A Belarusian delegation met Wednesday with Lebanese Army chief and presidential candidate Gen. Joseph Aoun and later with Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, as part of efforts to strengthen ties between Lebanon and Belarus.
The delegation, led by Belarusian Deputy Prime Minister Viktor Karankevich, delivered an official invitation from President Alexander Lukashenko for Aoun to visit Belarus, according to a statement posted by the Lebanese presidency on X.
Aoun thanked Lukashenko for Belarus’s donation of ambulances, which were received Tuesday at Rafik Hariri International Airport by Health Minister Rakan Nassereddine, the statement added.
Speaking after his meeting with Salam, Karankevich described the ambulance donation as part of “the cooperation we seek in the medical and pharmaceutical sectors,” calling it a “gesture of solidarity and human partnership.”
“This is our second visit to Lebanon this year, carried out on the instructions of the Belarusian president,” Karankevich said, according to the state-run National News Agency (NNA). “It reflects the growing interest of the Belarusian leadership — especially the president — in deepening friendship and long-term cooperation with Lebanon.”
Bilateral relations
During his meeting with Salam, Karankevich discussed Belarus’s willingness to provide Lebanon with medical equipment and medicine, as well as support in emergency response and training for Lebanese teams, in partnership with relevant Belarusian institutions.
“We reaffirm our commitment to building bilateral relations based on mutual respect,” he said. “Belarus is ready to support Lebanese initiatives within a joint cooperation framework — especially in agriculture, agrifood industries and education. More than 600 Lebanese students are currently enrolled in Belarusian universities, and we’re open to increasing that number.”
Belarus is a close ally of Russia and backed Moscow’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine by providing logistical support. The day after the invasion, Lebanon officially condemned what it called “the Russian military invasion,” sparking domestic political controversy. At the time, the Russian Embassy in Beirut criticized the statement, saying it “violated Lebanon’s policy of disassociation” and overlooked Moscow’s role in “contributing to Lebanon’s recovery and stability.”
