Minsk does not intend to abandon plans to send an ambassador to the United States and is currently completing the search for a suitable candidate, Belarusian Foreign Minister Vladimir Makei said on Friday
MINSK (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 07th May, 2021) Minsk does not intend to abandon plans to send an ambassador to the United States and is currently completing the search for a suitable candidate, Belarusian Foreign Minister Vladimir Makei said on Friday.
Last December, newly-appointed Belarusian Ambassador to the US Oleg Kravchenko, who serve as deputy foreign minister, died aged 49.
"The issue is not off [the agenda], we are in contact with the [US] colleagues. We are currently completing searches for a suitable candidate to the position. It is quite difficult ... to find a person who knows this country and will be able to work effectively there," Makei told reporters, commenting on plans to send an ambassador to Washington.
Minsk would like to have normal, equal relations with Washington, as well as develop cooperation in all spheres, the foreign minister said, noting that two to three years of normalization in bilateral relations gave the countries much more than the period of confrontation due to sanctions.
Commenting on Minsk's readiness to receive the recently-appointed US ambassador to the country, Julie Fisher, the official said that the Belarusian authorities should clearly understand "with what sentiment" the diplomat is traveling whether "with love for the country or feelings that are based only on the statements of the opposition."
"In an interview, Fisher said that one of the ambassador's tasks is to oversee the functioning of the authorities in the country of accreditation. We have someone to oversee the functioning of the authorities ... Diplomacy should be aimed at rapprochement between peoples and states, and not at creating dividing lines. It is necessary always to be guided by common sense in building relations between states," Makei added.
In late January, the Belarusian minister said that Minsk would soon select a candidate to the post of Belarusian ambassador to the US, noting that there are several candidates.
In March, Derek Chollet, the counselor of the US secretary of state, confirmed to Makei that the US ambassador was ready to arrive in the country. However, Fisher later said that she could not leave for Minsk, as she had not yet received a visa.
At the same time, the US ambassador held meetings with the Belarusian opposition's representatives in Lithuania and Poland. Commenting on the meetings, Makei said that Minsk did not understand the "one-sided position" toward obtaining information about the republic.
