Julie Fisher
The United States confirmed plans to soon send an ambassador to Belarus. This is reported by TASS with reference to US First Deputy Secretary of State Stephen Bigan.
The spokesman for the State Department noted that the main candidate for this position is the former US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Julie Fisher. It is known that it is currently undergoing approval in the Senate.
“It is very important for the United States to have a representative in Belarus who is able to articulate American policy and firmly represent the values and interests that should be taken into account in our relations,” Bigan said. He noted that the American ambassador will join other ambassadors from Europe, who “stand shoulder to shoulder” with members of the Coordination Council (CC) of the opposition of Belarus, for example, Nobel Prize laureate in literature Svetlana Aleksievich.
Julie Fischer previously served as Washington's Deputy Representative to NATO. In addition, she has also worked for the US Embassies in Georgia, Ukraine and Russia.
In August, the former rival of Alexander Lukashenko in the presidential race, Valery Tsepkalo, claimed that the United States had promised the Belarusian opposition not to send a new ambassador to Minsk yet.
In 2008, Belarus recalled its ambassador from Washington due to the sanctions imposed on Minsk. The American ambassador also left the republic. Representatives of the two countries were headed by temporary attorneys. In 2020, Belarus and the United States agreed to exchange ambassadors.