'Is Belarus really our ally?' Russians slam Minsk sitting on the fence over conflict with Turkey

The Belarusian Foreign Ministry’s neutral comment on Turkey’s downing the Sukhoi Su-24 fighter have knocked Russians back on their heels.

“Such tragic and very dangerous incidents cause deep regret and extreme concern. Especially when they happen in a region where a bloody armed confrontation has been in progress for several years and when countries like brotherly Russia and friendly Turkey are involved in such incidents,” Dzmitry Mironchyk, the spokesman for the Belarusian Foreign Ministry, said on Thursday.

Self-control and cooperation are needed to de-escalate the tension and clarify of all details, Mironchyk stressed.

The fact that Minsk failed to voice unquestioning support for Moscow has put Russian Internet users into a rage.

“As I far as I know, Lukashenka did not make any comment. Neither did Nazarbayev, by the way. At least, there were no media reports. But then the Belarusian Foreign Ministry spokesman came out! You know what he said? Imagine, what would you tell your closest ally – a military ally – in case their warplane was suddenly shot down?”

“You see? Turkey downed our military aircraft in a rather controversial situation, and our main military and political ally ‘deeply regrets’ and ‘very much concerned’! How is life treating our brotherly Russia? And what consequences will our friendly Turkey have after the very dangerous incident?” blogger VG_Savelev said with biting irony.

Over 500 comments appeared under his Livejournal post, which was also shared by website publikatsii.ru. Most people blasted Minsk for maintaining a circumspect view towards the Russia-Turkey conflict.Cez, belsat.eu