US closes Belarus embassy, authorizes voluntary departures for Russian embassy U.S. Embassy in Minsk (Homoatrox/WikiCommons)
This article was originally published by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and is reprinted with permission.
The State Department says it has suspended operations at the U.S. Embassy in Belarus and has authorized the voluntary departure of nonessential staff at the U.S. Embassy in Moscow due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
“We took these steps due to security and safety issues stemming from the unprovoked and unjustified attack by Russian military forces in Ukraine,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement on February 28.
Belarus is a staunch ally of Russia and is allowing Moscow to use its territory as a staging ground for attacks on Ukraine.
