Julie Fisher so far has no official relation to Belarus – Belarusian MFA
<p> MINSK, Jun 4 - PrimePress. U.S. Ambassador-Designate Julie Fisher so far has no official relation to Belarus. Anatoly Glaz, Press Secretary of the Belarusian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, made a statement to this effect on June 4. </p> <p> </p> <p> In a statement following Belarus’ retaliatory measures introduced on 3 June in response to U.S. sanctions, U.S. State Department Spokesman Ned Price said that U.S. Ambassador to Belarus Julie Fisher would “continue to support the democratic aspirations of the Belarusian people, and she'll continue to engage with them from outside of Belarus”. </p> <p> </p> <p> “… officially she (Fisher – editor’s note) has nothing to do with Belarus yet,” said Glaz. “In accordance with Article 13, Paragraph 1 of the Vienna Convention, the head of the mission is considered as having taken up their functions in the receiving State either when he/she has presented their credentials or when he/she has notified their arrival and a true copy of their credentials has been presented to the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of the receiving State. “Thus, before the completion of the accreditation process, Julie Fisher has only the resounding status of the U.S. ambassador-designate, and that is exclusively for the internal use of the American side. There are no international legal grounds for a different interpretation. There are no grounds either to view the things she says or does as official statements or activities in relation to our country,” Glaz added. </p> <p> </p> <p> As previously reported, in March 2008, Belarus recalled its ambassador to the United States, Mikhail Khvostov, after the US imposed additional sanctions against the Belneftekhim state petrochemical concern. Belarusian authorities demanded that US Ambassador Karen Stewart leave Belarus, and that the number of American diplomats reduce from 35 to five. Since then, the embassies had been headed by charges d’affaires. The Foreign Ministry of Belarus lifted restrictions on the number of American diplomats in March 2019. </p> <p> </p> <p> In September 2019, U.S. Under Secretary of State David Hale announced that the United States and Belarus were ready to appoint ambassadors. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Western Europe and the EU Julie D. Fisher was appointed as United States ambassador to Belarus. The U.S. did not recognise the official outcome of the August 2020 presidential election in Belarus and Fisher never arrived in Minsk. There was a discussion to ward Fisher accreditation in Vilnius. End </p>
2021-06-05
Primepress
Julie Fisher so far has no official relation to Belarus – Belarusian MFA
MINSK, Jun 4 - PrimePress. U.S. Ambassador-Designate Julie Fisher so far has no official relation to Belarus. Anatoly Glaz, Press Secretary of the Belarusian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, made a statement to this effect on June 4.
In a statement following Belarus’ retaliatory measures introduced on 3 June in response to U.S. sanctions, U.S. State Department Spokesman Ned Price said that U.S. Ambassador to Belarus Julie Fisher would “continue to support the democratic aspirations of the Belarusian people, and she'll continue to engage with them from outside of Belarus”.
“… officially she (Fisher – editor’s note) has nothing to do with Belarus yet,” said Glaz. “In accordance with Article 13, Paragraph 1 of the Vienna Convention, the head of the mission is considered as having taken up their functions in the receiving State either when he/she has presented their credentials or when he/she has notified their arrival and a true copy of their credentials has been presented to the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of the receiving State. “Thus, before the completion of the accreditation process, Julie Fisher has only the resounding status of the U.S. ambassador-designate, and that is exclusively for the internal use of the American side. There are no international legal grounds for a different interpretation. There are no grounds either to view the things she says or does as official statements or activities in relation to our country,” Glaz added.
As previously reported, in March 2008, Belarus recalled its ambassador to the United States, Mikhail Khvostov, after the US imposed additional sanctions against the Belneftekhim state petrochemical concern. Belarusian authorities demanded that US Ambassador Karen Stewart leave Belarus, and that the number of American diplomats reduce from 35 to five. Since then, the embassies had been headed by charges d’affaires. The Foreign Ministry of Belarus lifted restrictions on the number of American diplomats in March 2019.
In September 2019, U.S. Under Secretary of State David Hale announced that the United States and Belarus were ready to appoint ambassadors. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Western Europe and the EU Julie D. Fisher was appointed as United States ambassador to Belarus. The U.S. did not recognise the official outcome of the August 2020 presidential election in Belarus and Fisher never arrived in Minsk. There was a discussion to ward Fisher accreditation in Vilnius. End