2001 press releases

Embassy Statement on 15th Anniversary of Chernobyl (April 26, 2001)

On the fifteenth anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant disaster, the United States Embassy joins in commemorating the victims of Chernobyl and in remembering the enormous, lingering damage to Belarus and its citizens caused by this disaster. This was a tragedy whose consequences and whose solutions know no borders. The United States Government and numerous non-governmental organizations in the United States have actively supported remediation and recovery in Belarus over the past fifteen years. Last year the United States provided more than $15 million-worth of humanitarian assistance. Each year U.S. organizations like Citihope and Children of Chernobyl, U.S. Alliance send humanitarian assistance and volunteers to Belarus and bring thousands of children living in Chernobyl-affected areas to the United States for rehabilitation. The United States Government is currently finishing a $450,000 renovation of a hospital in Gomel, and we will continue to look for, and participate in, other projects to help Belarus recover. We are confident that, once the Belarusian economy is on a solid market-based footing, the Belarusian authorities will be in better position to contribute more resources on a steadier basis.