Translated material
Until the last diplomat
Belarusians will receive US visas in Moscow
Washington denies rumors of its intention to close its embassy in Minsk, but such a development cannot be ruled out asthe diplomatic conflict between the two countries continues . On May 3, 11 American diplomats left Belarus at once, ten of whom were declared persona non grata by Minsk. “Four diplomats remain at the embassy, including the chargé ad interim,” the US diplomatic mission told Vremya Novostei.Relations between Minsk and Washington deteriorated in March after the US imposed economic sanctions against the state concern Belneftekhim and its member enterprises. At the initiative of Belarus, the parties exchanged recalls of ambassadors for consultations, and by the end of March, the US Embassy halved the number of its staff. Minsk has proposed making another cut, leaving six employees at its embassy in Washington. On April 30, Belarus declared ten American diplomats persona non grata “due to the refusal of the American side to follow the recommendation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on a similar reduction in the number of employees.” US representatives were asked to leave the country within 72 hours.
At a briefing, US Chargé d'Affaires in Minsk Jonathan Moore declared the actions of the Belarusian side “unprecedented”, since the diplomats were “called persona non grata not for what they do,” but due to Minsk’s desire to reduce their numbers. Moore noted that this decision will limit the activities of the embassy, including in the implementation of humanitarian programs. Currently, consular services in Belarus are provided only to US citizens. Belarusians can obtain an American visa only outside the country, including at the embassy in Moscow.
Minsk says the conflict will be resolved if the US lifts economic sanctions. But, according to Jonathan Moore, “the sanctions do not depend on what happens to our embassy”: “As long as there are political prisoners, economic sanctions will continue.” The diplomat did not rule out the introduction of new sanctions if the United States does not see improvements in the field of human rights in Belarus.
The demand for the release of political prisoners - the presence of which Minsk does not recognize - is a condition for the warming of relations between Belarus and the United States and the European Union. We are talking primarily about ex-presidential candidate Alexander Kazulin, who in 2006 was sentenced to five and a half years on charges of organizing mass riots. In the winter, several opponents of the authorities were released from Belarusian prisons, but in April, oppositionists Andrei Kim and Sergei Parsyukevich were convicted.
“The best way out of the situation is to return to political bargaining. The worst thing would be to close the embassy. Hints of such a development of events hardly appeared in the press by accident. In any case, we can expect that the cooling will be long-lasting,” Belarusian independent political scientist Alexander Klaskovsky told Vremya Novostei.