US names Belarus envoy after decade-long freeze

WASHINGTON: The United States on Monday named its first ambassador to Belarus in more than a decade as it seeks to nudge the close Russian ally toward the Western orbit. President Donald Trump tapped career diplomat Julie Fisher, a top State Department official for Europe who has served in Moscow, to be the US ambassador to Minsk. Fisher requires confirmation by the Senate. While her nomination did not generate immediate opposition, it is uncertain when the Senate would act as lawmakers are staying out of Washington

due to the coronavirus pandemic and will later head into election season.

Alexander Lukashenko, the authoritarian leader of Belarus, in 2008 threw out the US ambassador after the George W Bush administration imposed sanctions on the president, his allies and a state oil company following elections seen as unfair and a crackdown on protesters. In a sign of warming ties, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in February met Lukashenko in Minsk in the first visit there by a top US diplomat since 1994.

While saying the United States was not trying to drive a wedge between Belarus and Moscow, Pompeo said the United States wanted to help the country often described as Europe’s last dictatorship to be a “sovereign.” Pompeo also offered to export US oil to the

landlocked country, which was embroiled in a price war with Russia. Shortly after Pompeo’s visit, Lukashenko traveled to Russia and said President Vladimir Putin pushed him to merge Belarus outright in return for cheap energy.

The United States and Belarus agreed in principle to exchange ambassadors after trips to Minsk last year by David Hale, the top US career diplomat, and John Bolton, then Trump’s national security advisor. Bolton, a hardliner on Russia, had been keen to nurture US relationships with neighboring nations including Belarus and Ukraine. Despite his administration’s push, Trump has voiced admiration for Putin and has been especially critical of Ukraine-with his pressure on Kiev leading to his impeachment.—AFP