The State Department announced that it would be moving to close the U.S. Embassy in Belarus, along with allowing diplomats from the U.S. Embassy in Moscow to leave.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement on Monday that the United States would be moving to suspend operations at the embassy in Minsk, the capital city of Belarus. Additionally, the State Department also “authorized the voluntary departure” of “non-emergency employees” and their families.
“We took these steps due to security and safety issues stemming from the unprovoked and unjustified attack by Russian military forces in Ukraine,” Blinken said in the statement.
PUTIN HAS NOT YET ORDERED UKRAINE INVASION BUT NEW INDICATIONS SUGGEST IT IS IMMINENT
“The Department of State continually adjusts its posture at embassies and consulates throughout the world in line with its mission, the local security environment, and the health situation,” Blinken said. “We ultimately have no higher priority than the safety and security of U.S. citizens, and that includes our U.S. government personnel and their dependents serving around the world.”
Blinken’s announcement of the closure of the U.S. Embassy in Belarus comes as new reports indicate that Russia’s ally might be preparing to send military forces into Ukraine to help assist with the capturing of Kyiv.
We have suspended operations at our Embassy in Minsk and authorized the voluntary departure of non-emergency employees and family members at our Embassy in Moscow. We have no higher priority than the safety and security of U.S. citizens.
— Secretary Antony Blinken (@SecBlinken) February 28, 2022
Intelligence obtained by the Ukrainian government point toward Belarus becoming ready “to maybe participate directly” in support of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, a Ukrainian government official informed CNN. This information was backed up by the Washington Post and Kyiv Independent.
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Reports surfaced on Sunday that Russian and Ukrainian officials would begin talks at the Belarusian border, with officials sitting down for those talks on Monday, according to CNN. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky initially resisted talks with Russia because he said he felt they would not change anything.
Prior to launching a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Russia used Belarus as a staging area for troops.
