MINSK, October 20. /TASS/. The Belarusian Consulate General in New York has closed in accordance with a decree of the republic’s Cabinet of Ministers signed by Prime Minister Roman Golovchenko. The corresponding document was published on the national legal web portal on Wednesday.
"[I hereby decree] to close the Consulate General of the Republic of Belarus in New York City (the United States of America) by October 20, 2021," the document noted.
Earlier, the Consulate General reported that it would terminate operations on October 21 at the demand of the US side. Belarusian citizens residing in the consular district, including Canada, may now access the republic’s embassy in the US. The Belarusian Foreign Ministry expressed regrets over Washington’s decision to close the Consulate General in New York.
In the wake of the resumption of US sanctions against Minsk, the Belarusian Foreign Ministry asked the United States to reduce the personnel of its embassy in Minsk to five by September 1. Also, Belarus revoked its consent to the appointment of Julie Fisher as US ambassador to Belarus.