US wants to return embassy to Minsk and normalize relations with Belarus

The US wants to return the embassy to Minsk and wants to finally normalize relations with Belarus. This was stated by the representative of the US President John Cole following a meeting with the President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko, BELTA reports.

The representative of the US President described the meeting with the President of Belarus as extremely productive. "Just like my recent meeting with US President Trump. We discussed this trip, our visit, the possibility of meeting with the President of Belarus," he said. "The goal of our interaction is to normalize bilateral relations between the Republic of Belarus and the United States. One of the main goals is to do everything possible to ensure that economic and political interaction between our countries expands and strengthens."

John Cole is satisfied with the results of the meeting with Alexander Lukashenko and is confident that President Trump will be similarly satisfied after he is informed of the results.

"The Presidents of Belarus and the United States are leaders who are doing everything to normalize our relations and focus not on differences, but on common points," said John Cole.

He called the current relations between Belarus and the United States good, but not excellent. "There is still much that can be done to further normalize these relations, improve them, and so on. We want to return our embassy to Minsk. We want economic relations to develop between our countries, and trade to develop. If there are any differences and disagreements between our countries, then let them remain somewhere below, they should not be brought to the surface. We are ready, and President Trump is ready, to do everything to finally normalize our relations," the representative of the US President assured.

As for the return of the US Embassy to Minsk, John Cole did not name specific dates, as this is still in the negotiation process. "I know that we want the embassy to return. I know that it will return. This is a matter of the near future. We want to have an ambassador, we want to have a full embassy here. And we will work on this," the representative of the US President said.

John Cole said that the main goal of his next visit to Minsk was the announcement of the complete lifting of sanctions against the Belarusian airline "Belavia". "We are absolutely certainly moving in the right direction. Yes, there are still restrictive measures. This is a process of negotiations. The negotiations will continue. We are moving in the right direction. It will take some time to resolve these issues. But this is a process of negotiations that are ongoing," he added.

John Cole said that he has developed excellent personal relations with the President of Belarus. "We allow ourselves to joke. I repeat once again that we are ready to do everything to normalize relations. And to resolve differences as necessary, but not to drag all this to the surface," he said.

The representative of the US President also recalled the telephone conversation that took place between Donald Trump and Alexander Lukashenko, when on the way to Alaska the US President called the President of Belarus from the plane. "They had a very good conversation. We are moving in the right direction," John Cole is sure.