US Nominates First Ambassador to Belarus after Decade-long Freeze

The United States has named its first ambassador to Belarus in more than a decade as a sign of warming relations between the two countries.

On April 20, President Donald Trump announced his intent to nominate Julie Fisher to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the Republic of Belarus, the White House has reported.

Julie Fisher currently serves as the Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Western Europe and the EU.

She previously served as the Deputy Permanent Representative of the US Mission to NATO leading preparations for the 2018 Brussels Summit and the move to the new NATO HQ.

She was the Chief of Staff to the Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources supporting reform efforts involving knowledge management, human resources and security at US facilities abroad.

Prior to that, Julie served as the Director of the State Department’s Operations Center, the 24/7 team that facilitates communications for the Secretary of State, Department principals and colleagues around the globe; the Operations Center also hosts the Department’s task forces and crisis response teams.

From 2011-2013, in support of the NATO Secretary General, Julie was detailed to NATO’s international staff as Deputy Director of the Private Office where she covered North American affairs, the Baltic states, Operations policies and issues related to defense and deterrence posture.

She has also served in assignments at the US Embassies in Tbilisi, Georgia; Kyiv, Ukraine and Moscow, Russia, as well as tours at the National Security Council, the bureaus for European Affairs and Near Eastern Affairs, and as a member of the Secretary of State’s Executive Secretariat Staff.

She earned her B.A. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and an M.P.P. from Princeton University. She speaks Russian, French and some Georgian.

"Since Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko came to power in 1994, he has consolidated power through widespread repression. In 1996, Lukashenko reacted to Western criticism of a referendum that dissolved Parliament and expanded the authority of the presidency by temporarily expelling the US and EU Ambassadors.

"After a presidential election in 2006 that violated international norms and was neither free nor fair, the United States implemented travel restrictions and targeted financial sanctions on nine state-owned entities and 16 individuals (including Lukashenko).

"In 2008, after the United States tightened sanctions due to worsening human rights abuses, Belarus expelled the US ambassador and 30 out of 35 US diplomats.

"In August 2015, Lukashenko released all six of Belarus’ political prisoners. In response, the United States provided limited sanctions relief, suspending sanctions on state-owned entities. Since then, Belarus has taken some steps to improve democracy and human rights.

"In 2019, the United States and Belarus announced they would exchange ambassadors as the next step in normalizing bilateral relations.

"Increased engagement depends on Belarus making additional progress on human rights and democracy issues," the US Department of State says.

By Ana Dumbadze

Image: Julie Fisher

Photo: Reuters

26 April 2020 20:53