On July 10, Belarusian Foreign Minister Uladzimir Makey met with U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State George Kent.
During the meeting, the sides discussed a wide range of issues on the bilateral agenda, including ways to further develop Belarusian-American relations, the MFA press service reports.
It is the second time Mr Kent has arrived in Belarus over the past year. His first visit to Minsk took place in March; then Minsk officially informed the US delegation on lifting the cap on the number of diplomats allowed in the country. It had been in force since 2008. The Belarusian Foreign Ministry expressed hope that the step would contribute to the further normalization of relations between Belarus and the United States. In turn, George Kent said that Washington welcomed the decision.
In an interview with TUT.BY, he also stressed that if Belarus took more steps in the field of human rights and democracy, the US could consider the possibility of further easing sanctions.
After the US imposed sanctions on Belarus, Alyaksandr Lukashenka accused the US embassy of subversive activities. Minsk recalled the ambassador from Washington and limited the number of American diplomats in the Belarusian capital to five. Before that there were 32 of them. Since 2008, the American Embassy in Minsk has been operating in a reduced mode, without an ambassador. First, a limit was set to five diplomats, but gradually it was expanded to ten.
For over a decade, the embassies of both countries have been headed by сharges d’affaires.
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