The political scientist assessed the warming between Belarus and the United States

The lifting of US sanctions against Belavia will have a positive impact on the Belarusian aviation industry, although there is no talk of a trusting dialogue between Minsk and the West. This was stated to Izvestia by Belarusian political scientist Peter Petrovsky.

Island of Approach: Russia and Japan discuss resumption of direct flights

Even despite their absence, the tourist flow between the countries has been growing significantly for the second year in a row.

"There will be a certain improvement in the situation, because most of Belavia's aircraft are American-made. On the other hand, there will be no global changes, because the European Union (EU) has not lifted its sanctions. Accordingly, Belavia will not be able to fly to EU countries and fly in the European sky," he explains.

The expert adds that the dialogue with the United States is also causing concern.

"We see that Washington is playing a double game. On the one hand, they speak of a willingness to improve relations. On the other hand, they are encouraging the aggressive militaristic policies of Poland and the Baltic states, encouraging them to close the border with our country and take other unfriendly steps. Minsk is well aware of this, so the level of distrust towards the administration of [US President Donald] Trump's high," he argues.

On November 4, the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the U.S. Treasury Department officially lifted sanctions against the Belarusian airline Belavia. Three aircraft with tail numbers EW-001PA, EW-001PB and EW-001PH were also removed from the restrictions. On September 11, Deputy Special Representative of the President of the United States John Cole announced the lifting of sanctions against Belavia. The official then stressed that the decision was made by Trump. On the same day, President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko expressed gratitude to the United States for the partial lifting of restrictions.

Read more about the prospects of relations between Belarus and the United States in the Izvestia article:

Deal in the sky: what will the warming between the USA and Belarus lead to?

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