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US diplomat: No plans to lower visa fees for Belarusians

The United States does not plan to lower visa fees for Belarusians in response to Minsk's move to reduce the cost of Belarusian visas for US citizens, Charge d’affaires Scott Rauland said at the 22nd Minsk International Book Fair on Wednesday.

The diplomat referred to US laws, which he said set the minimum cost of visas for citizens of all countries, and noted that there was nothing that the embassy could do.

Mr. Rauland said that he understood the difficulties experienced by Belarusian citizens who have to travel to Warsaw, Vilnius or Moscow to receive a US visa, and expressed hope that more people would be able to apply to the Minsk-based embassy for a US visa in a few months' time.

Following the United States’ move in March 2008 to impose sanctions on Belarus’ state petrochemical conglomerate Belnaftakhim over human rights violations in the country, the Belarusian government unilaterally imposed restrictions on the number of US diplomats allowed in Minsk. The US embassy was forced to reduce its staff from 35 to five diplomats as well as withdraw its ambassador.

Few categories of people can now file their visa applications in Minsk. // BelaPAN