Belarus MFA comments on reports on removed restrictions on number of U.S. diplomats in Minsk

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Belarus’ Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirms that the Belarusian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the U.S. State Department have had telephone conversations to discuss the ways to mend relations between the two countries, reporters learned from Anatoly Glaz, head of the information and digital diplomacy office, spokesman for the Belarusian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

“We can confirm that several telephone conversations have recently been held between the Belarusian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the U.S. State Department,” Anatoly Glaz said. According to him, during these conversations, the parties discussed various aspects of Belarus-U.S. relations, including the rapprochement possibilities. “According to the diplomatic ethics, the details of such conversations are not disclosed,” Anatoly Glaz noted. 

On 10 January the Foreign Policy Magazine reported with reference to sources in the U.S. State Department that Belarusian Minister of Foreign Affairs Vladimir Makei and the U.S. State Department’s top diplomat on Europe Wess Mitchell had a telephone conversation on that day. Vladimir Makei informed the United States that Belarus has lifted a long-standing cap on the number of U.S. diplomats allowed in the country, the FP said. The U.S. State Department declined to comment on this information.