{"id":157867,"date":"2025-09-30T19:13:54","date_gmt":"2025-09-30T16:13:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/157867\/"},"modified":"2026-03-09T20:10:49","modified_gmt":"2026-03-09T20:10:49","slug":"official-admits-orphans-are-leverage-in-fight-against-sanctions","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/157867\/","title":{"rendered":"Official admits orphans are \u201cleverage\u201d in fight against sanctions"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>September 30, <em>Pozirk.<\/em><\/strong> A senior Belarusian official has described Minsk\u2019s refusal to approve the adoption of orphans by Italian families as \u201cleverage\u201d to pressure the West into easing sanctions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A journalist from <em>Buro Media<\/em> posed as a law student and called Ta\u0107ciana Bialevi\u010d, director of the National Center for Adoptions, asking about children who have been unable to reunite with their Italian foster parents for more than five years. Bialevi\u010d responded that she is not a politician and had no role play in other countries\u2019 decision to impose the sanctions on Belarus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThis is our domestic leverage, internal instruments that we work with\u2026 I don\u2019t see any reason to explain this internal leverage to you specifically,\u201d she said, referring to the children waiting to be adopted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Bialevi\u010d added that the state provides housing and care for the children. \u201cThese kids are doing well,\u201d she insisted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Italy is the only country allowed to adopt Belarusian children under an international agreement. Italians once adopted about 200 Belarusian orphans each year, but adoptions have been suspended since 2023.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>According to <em>Buro Media<\/em>, around 200 children who already met their foster parents in Italy are now \u201cstuck in Belarus.\u201d Most are over 12 years old and face health issues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In October 2024, Italian authorities sent a letter of guarantee to Alaksandar \u0141uka\u0161enka, but the adoption process remains frozen. An executive at Associazione Adozioni Alfabeto, an Italian adoption organization, told reporters they do not know the real reason for the deadlock.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Belarus had 525 children living in boarding schools and 1,860 in family-type orphanages in 2024. Another 456 children under the age of three were housed in infant orphanages, according to the National Statistics Committee (Bie\u0142stat).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>September 30, Pozirk. A senior Belarusian official has described Minsk\u2019s refusal to approve the adoption of orphans by Italian families as \u201cleverage\u201d to pressure the West into easing sanctions. A journalist from Buro Media posed as a law student and called Ta\u0107ciana Bialevi\u010d, director of the National Center for Adoptions, asking about children who have [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":83,"featured_media":100270,"template":"","rubric":[15],"class_list":["post-157867","articles","type-articles","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","rubric-society"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Official admits orphans are \u201cleverage\u201d in fight against sanctions | Pozirk<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"September 30, Pozirk. A senior Belarusian official has described Minsk\u2019s refusal to approve the adoption of orphans by Italian families as \u201cleverage\u201d to\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/157867\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Official admits orphans are \u201cleverage\u201d in fight against sanctions | Pozirk\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"September 30, Pozirk. A senior Belarusian official has described Minsk\u2019s refusal to approve the adoption of orphans by Italian families as \u201cleverage\u201d to\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/157867\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Pozirk\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pozirkonline\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-03-09T20:10:49+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/italia-flag-pixabay.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1128\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"750\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Pozirk_online\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"NewsArticle\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/157867\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/157867\/\"},\"headline\":\"Official admits orphans are \u201cleverage\u201d in fight against sanctions\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-09-30T16:13:54+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-03-09T20:10:49+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/157867\/\"},\"wordCount\":285,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/157867\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/italia-flag-pixabay.jpg\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/157867\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/157867\/\",\"name\":\"Official admits orphans are \u201cleverage\u201d in fight against sanctions | Pozirk\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/157867\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/157867\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/italia-flag-pixabay.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-09-30T16:13:54+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-03-09T20:10:49+00:00\",\"description\":\"September 30, Pozirk. A senior Belarusian official has described Minsk\u2019s refusal to approve the adoption of orphans by Italian families as \u201cleverage\u201d to\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/157867\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/157867\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/157867\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/italia-flag-pixabay.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/italia-flag-pixabay.jpg\",\"width\":1128,\"height\":750},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/157867\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Official admits orphans are \u201cleverage\u201d in fight against sanctions\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/\",\"name\":\"Pozirk\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Pozirk\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/cropped-Logo_color_512.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/cropped-Logo_color_512.png\",\"width\":512,\"height\":512,\"caption\":\"Pozirk\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pozirkonline\/\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/Pozirk_online\"]}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Official admits orphans are \u201cleverage\u201d in fight against sanctions | Pozirk","description":"September 30, Pozirk. A senior Belarusian official has described Minsk\u2019s refusal to approve the adoption of orphans by Italian families as \u201cleverage\u201d to","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/157867\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Official admits orphans are \u201cleverage\u201d in fight against sanctions | Pozirk","og_description":"September 30, Pozirk. A senior Belarusian official has described Minsk\u2019s refusal to approve the adoption of orphans by Italian families as \u201cleverage\u201d to","og_url":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/157867\/","og_site_name":"Pozirk","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pozirkonline\/","article_modified_time":"2026-03-09T20:10:49+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1128,"height":750,"url":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/italia-flag-pixabay.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_site":"@Pozirk_online","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/157867\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/157867\/"},"headline":"Official admits orphans are \u201cleverage\u201d in fight against sanctions","datePublished":"2025-09-30T16:13:54+00:00","dateModified":"2026-03-09T20:10:49+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/157867\/"},"wordCount":285,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/157867\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/italia-flag-pixabay.jpg","inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/157867\/","url":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/157867\/","name":"Official admits orphans are \u201cleverage\u201d in fight against sanctions | Pozirk","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/157867\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/157867\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/italia-flag-pixabay.jpg","datePublished":"2025-09-30T16:13:54+00:00","dateModified":"2026-03-09T20:10:49+00:00","description":"September 30, Pozirk. A senior Belarusian official has described Minsk\u2019s refusal to approve the adoption of orphans by Italian families as \u201cleverage\u201d to","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/157867\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/157867\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/157867\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/italia-flag-pixabay.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/italia-flag-pixabay.jpg","width":1128,"height":750},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/157867\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Official admits orphans are \u201cleverage\u201d in fight against sanctions"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#website","url":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/","name":"Pozirk","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#organization","name":"Pozirk","url":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/cropped-Logo_color_512.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/cropped-Logo_color_512.png","width":512,"height":512,"caption":"Pozirk"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pozirkonline\/","https:\/\/x.com\/Pozirk_online"]}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/articles\/157867","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/articles"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/articles"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/83"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/100270"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=157867"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"rubric","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rubric?post=157867"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}