Belarus and United States

Diplomatic relations between Belarus and the United States were established on 28 December 1991. In 1992, the Embassy of Belarus in the US began operating in Washington, D.C.

In the early years of diplomatic relations between Belarus and the US, a foundation for co-operation was laid across the political, trade, economic, and humanitarian spheres. Visits by the President of Belarus to the US took place in 1995, 2000, 2005, and 2015, including to attend sessions of the UN General Assembly. In 1994, US President Bill Clinton visited Belarus.

During a visit to the US in September 2015, a protocol meeting took place between President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko and US President Barack Obama.

In July 2017, a US Congressional delegation led by Senator Roger Wicker visited Belarus to attend a session of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly. During the visit, members of the delegation met with the Head of the Belarusian State.

In August 2019, US National Security Advisor John Bolton visited Belarus, where he met with the President of Belarus.

At the invitation of the American side, consultations between the secretaries of the security councils of Belarus, Poland, the US, and Ukraine were held in Warsaw in August 2019.

On 1 February 2020, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo visited Belarus. During his visit, he met with the President and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Belarus. The US Secretary of State also visited the Hi-Tech Park.

Until August 2020, a process of normalisation continued in relations between Belarus and the US. An atmosphere of mutual trust was progressively being restored, while the level and intensity of bilateral contacts were increasing. The sides reached an agreement to restore full diplomatic representation at the ambassadorial level. Dialogue was developing on issues of international security, human rights, and combating human trafficking, organised crime, international terrorism, and illicit drug trafficking.

The unconstructive reaction of the US to the presidential elections held in Belarus in August 2020 led to a deterioration in Belarusian-American relations in the early 2020s, along with an unprecedented tightening of anti-Belarusian sanctions and rhetoric from the US side. Belarus was forced to take a number of counter-measures, including retaliatory sanctions.

In 2025, with the return of Donald Trump's administration to the White House, certain positive shifts emerged in Belarusian-American relations. Within the framework of high-level bilateral dialogue, Belarus and the US took reciprocal steps that resulted in the lifting of US sanctions against Belavia – Belarusian Airlines, enterprises of the Belarusian potash industry, the Ministry of Finance, the Development Bank of the Republic of Belarus, OJSC Belarusian Bank for Development and Reconstruction (Belinvestbank), LLC Belinvest-Engineering, and CJSC Belbiznesleasing.

Maintaining full-fledged and multifaceted bilateral relations with the US is an important vector of Belarusian foreign policy. The Belarusian side advocates the development of interaction with the US based on the principles of equality, mutual respect, and due regard for each other's interests.

⇒ Belarus in International Relations