Pavel Yakubovich extends Israel visit

Pavel Yakubovich, the editor-in-chief of the presidential newspaper Sovietskaya Belorussia, has said he is extending his stay in Israel for several more days. According to Yakubovich, he is being well received by politicians, NGOs and journalists. He said all his meetings were very positive and fruitful, reports Radio Svaboda.

Yakubovich arrived in Israel last week in order to play down Lukashenka's statements about the Jews which Israel, EU and US labelled as anti-Semitic.

Meeting at the Israeli foreign ministry, Yakubovich said Lukashenka's words about the Jewish people should be taken as "humorous, not serious". They "do not reflect the true attitude towards Jews", he said.

Boris Morozov, a researcher at the Center for Russian and East European Studies at the Tel Aviv University, desribed Yakubovich's peace-making mission as follows:

“It was a very harsh statement (by Lukashenka). It was very offensive as an expression of routine anti-Semitism. It cannot be ignored. The position of Mr Yakubovich is also extremely complicated. He can't just say that it didn't happen. He has not brought any message from the Belarusian president. Even if he has brought anything along, it is very microscopic... Generally, his visit gets very little media coverage”.