Ha'aretz - 07.29.2004

Ha'aretz Daily

Israel to reopen embassy in Belarus 

By Daphna Berman

The Israeli embassy in Belarus will reopen within a month and Zeev Ben Arie has been appointed ambassador. The announcement, which came this week from the Belarusian Embassy in Tel Aviv, was confirmed yesterday by Foreign Ministry sources.

The Israeli embassy in Minsk was closed last August due to budgetary constraints and a series of widespread cutbacks. Minsk took "reciprocal steps," recalling its ambassador to Israel and canceling consulate services in its Tel Aviv office.

"The measures are still in effect and will continue to be so until the Israeli embassy is reopened in Minsk," Alexander Ponomarev, a Belarusian embassy spokesperson told Haaretz. Ponomarev added that Ben Arie has not yet been approved, but that the reopening of the Israeli embassy would lead to the "reestablishment of full-fledged diplomatic relations" between the two countries.

Israeli citizens wishing to enter Belarus have not been able to apply for a visa locally since the diplomatic tiff last summer.

Flights between the two countries have continued three times a week, but travelers have had to apply for visas upon arrival at the airport - something Ponomarev admitted was "very time consuming."

In an interview with Haaretz last August, Belarusian Ambassador Gennadz Lavitski labeled the Foreign Ministry decision as "lacking common sense" and said the step "is counterproductive for Belarusian-Israeli cooperation in many directions."