Opinions & Interviews

Makei: Belarus is ready to receive U.S. ambassador any time

MINSK, 21 April (BelTA) – Belarus is ready to receive U.S. Ambassador Julie Fischer any time, Belarusian Minister of Foreign Affairs Vladimir Makei told the ONT TV channel, BelTA informs.

According to the foreign minister, it raises eyebrow that the ambassador-designate makes certain statements when visiting Vilnius, Warsaw and other cities. “At the same time, our partners do not give a clear answer as to the status in which the ambassador intends to arrive in Belarus. They only talk about the desire to establish direct contacts at the official level,” Vladimir Makei said. “We are also interested in resuming direct contacts, we believe that dialogue is extremely important in any situation. We are ready to receive the U.S. ambassador any time, but we want to have a clear and understandable perspective of our further interaction in all areas with our U.S. partners,” Vladimir Makei said.

The minister went on saying: Belarus is interested in normal, equal relations with the United States in all areas. “However, we do not accept certain methods, attempts to put pressure on Belarus, no matter who they come from. The events of recent days prompt us to re-visit the state of our relations with the world’s superpower and to see what and who is behind the attempt to stage a coup in Belarus, as the special services told us. Of course, the appropriate services will deal with these matters. It is obvious that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will respond appropriately to this situation. Yet, I want to reiterate: we would like to carefully study the matter from all sides in order to produce an appropriate assessment in a reasoned and balanced manner,” the minister emphasized.

Vladimir Makei added that any foreign citizen needs a visa to come to Belarus. “Therefore, we would like to know in what status the ambassador-designate intends to work in Belarus. If she is going to come here and make statements about the illegitimacy of our government, then what is the point of all this? I think in this case she will stay in the embassy and will do nothing and will not be able to work effectively, including on establishing direct contacts between the agencies of Belarus and the United States,” he said.

print version

make home page

add to bookmarks