(ANSA) - MOSCOW, FEBRUARY 01 - The US will appoint its own ambassador to Belarus in the near future: said Secretary of State Mike Pompeo when he met the Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko in Minsk. Pompeo said that Washington wants to strengthen its diplomatic staff in Minsk, which has fallen sharply 12 years ago. In September, the US and Belarus agreed to exchange ambassadors for the first time since 2008. The US seeks to improve relations with Belarus, which is experiencing a period of tensions with Russia for energy supplies. Belarus is reliant on low-cost crude oil supplies from Russia and the resale of petroleum products. Recently Moscow has increased the price and Minsk is looking for alternatives. Putin wants to strengthen political and economic ties with Minsk but Belarus fears Russian pressure and stresses that it does not want a merger of the two countries. Pompeo is the first US secretary of state to visit Belarus in over two decades.
Soon a US ambassador to Minsk
2020-02-01T09:34:07.347Z
The US will appoint its own ambassador to Belarus in the near future: Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said this when he met Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko in Minsk. (HANDLE)