Belarus Did Not Withdraw Its Consulates License in Baghdad
The Claim
The Belarusian Foreign Ministry decided to withdraw the license of its consulate in Baghdad due to the Kurdish refugee crisis on the border with Poland.
News posted on
Emerging story
Users on Facebook and Twitter have recently shared news that the Belarusian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has decided to revoke the license of its consulate in Baghdad due to the Kurdish refugee crisis on the border with Poland.
Misbar’s Analysis
Misbar investigated the circulating claim and found it to be misleading. Belarus did not decide to withdraw its consulate’s license from the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, but rather had the work permit of their consulate suspended by Iraqi authority. Moreover, the Belarusian Ministry of Foreign Affairs website did not publish any news regarding their consulate’s operating license withdrawal.
As a result of the refugee crisis at the Belarus border, the Iraqi Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced on November 12 the temporary withdrawal of the work permit of the Belarusian honorary consul in Baghdad. "This step comes to protect Iraqi citizens from human smuggling networks in Belarus and Poland," the Minister added.
The migrant crisis is escalating at the border between Belarus and Poland in light of attempts by migrants, mainly from Iraq, Syria, and Afghanistan, to cross the Polish border when the European Union is preparing to impose sanctions on Belarus.
The European Union accuses Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko of coordinating the arrival of the wave of migrants and refugees to the border with Poland in response to the European sanctions imposed on his country. The sanctions come after his regime's "brutal repression" against the opposition after the presidential elections in 2020. Based on the findings, the Misbar team confirms the claim is misleading. The suspension of operations of the Belarus consulate was done by Iraq and not by Belarus.
