Washington Seeks Normalized Relations with Belarus, Moves to Reopen Embassy
The United States is taking significant steps to normalize relations with Belarus, signaling plans to reopen its embassy in Minsk and officially lifting sanctions on the state airline Belavia, as confirmed by Deputy Special Representative for Ukraine John Cole following meetings with President Alexander Lukashenko.
The Gaze reports on it, referring to European Pravda, citing BELTA.
"We want to return our embassy to Minsk. We want economic relations and trade to develop between our countries. If there are any differences and contradictions between our countries, let them remain in the background; there is no need to bring them to the surface," said John Cole, Deputy Special Representative for Ukraine.
He stressed that the goal of these efforts to reopen the embassy is to expand and strengthen political and economic cooperation between the countries.
Although he described current relations as good but not perfect, the US seeks to resolve existing differences calmly and constructively.
Cole noted that the decision to return the embassy is still under negotiation, with no specific dates announced yet, but it is expected to happen in the near future.
He added that the US seeks to have a full embassy staff and a permanent ambassador in Minsk to maintain diplomatic contacts and bilateral initiatives.
“We want to have an ambassador, we want to have a full embassy staff here. And we will work on that,” he continued.
Meanwhile, it was reported that the United States had officially lifted sanctions against the Belarusian state airline Belavia. John Cole noted that the decision was made by President Trump and approved by all relevant agencies, including the State Department, the Department of Commerce, and the Department of the Treasury.
Cole emphasized that the lifting of sanctions is part of a broader strategy to normalize bilateral relations between the US and Belarus.
“The lifting of sanctions that we have announced at this meeting is only the beginning. And if we reach the right decisions in our discussion, our meeting on other individuals who are being held, I think we can achieve a great deal in terms of normalization,” he added.
As The Gaze informed earlier, satellite images reveal that Belarus has significantly expanded and modernized its military infrastructure over the past three years, including airfields, border bases, and ammunition depots.