Belarus and United States

Diplomatic relations between Belarus and the United States were established on December 28, 1991. The Embassy of the Republic of Belarus in the United States of America was opened in Washington, D.C. in 1992.

Following the establishment of diplomatic relations between Belarus and the United States, a foundation for political, economic and humanitarian cooperation between the two countries was laid. The President of the Republic of Belarus visited the United States in 1995, 2000, 2005 and 2015, including for participation in the sessions of the UN General Assembly. In 1994, the U.S. President paid a visit to Belarus.

As part of his visit to the U.S. in September 2015, President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko had a protocol meeting with U.S. President Barack Obama.

In July 2017, the U.S. Congressional delegation headed by Senator Roger Wicker visited Belarus to take part in the session of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly. During the visit, delegation members met with the Head of the Belarusian State.

Belarus removed the cap on the number of diplomats who can work in U.S. Embassy in Minsk, including the Ambassador.

In August 2019, John Bolton, National Security Advisor to the U.S. President, paid a visit to Belarus and met the President of the Republic of Belarus.

At the invitation of the U.S. side, consultations of chairmen of security councils of Belarus, Poland, U.S. and Ukraine took place in Warsaw in August 2019.

On February 1, 2020, U.S. Secretary of State Michael Pompeo paid a visit to the Republic of Belarus. During the visit, meetings were held with the President of the Republic of Belarus and the Minister of Foreign Affairs. U.S. Secretary of State visited Belarus Hi-Tech Park.

In 2020, the U.S. with the amount of $19.2 million became the leader among donor countries on the volume of foreign gratuitous assistance provided to Belarus.

In Belarus – U.S. relations, the process of normalization continued until August 2020. The atmosphere of mutual trust was gradually restored. The level and intensity of bilateral contacts increased. The parties reached an agreement on the restoration of a full-fledged diplomatic presence at the level of ambassadors. Dialogue was developing on international security, human rights, combating trafficking in persons, organized crime, international terrorism and illicit drug trafficking. 

The United States critically assessed the results of the presidential elections held in Belarus in August 2020 and therefore imposed restrictions on certain physical and legal persons of Belarus. Similar restrictions were introduced by the Belarusian side with regard to American officials. 

Maintaining full-fledged bilateral relations with the United States across the board is an important avenue of Belarus’ foreign policy. The Belarusian side stands for the development of equal engagement with the United States based on the principles of mutual respect and partnership. 

In 2021-2023, Washington's active role in the geopolitical, economic and diplomatic confrontation of the collective West with the Russian Federation predetermined further deterioration of the U.S. relations with the Republic of Belarus, which resulted in the unprecedented tightening of sanctions against our state and anti-Belarus rhetoric. Minsk, in its turn, was forced to take a number of countermeasures, including retaliatory sanctions. 

At the same time, contacts with Washington remain in place. The Belarusian side advocates the prevention of escalation and joint search for solutions to existing problems through an equitable dialogue based on the interests of the parties and non-interference in the internal affairs of the Republic of Belarus.

⇒ Belarus in International Relations