The United States has lifted sanctions on Belavia, Belarus’s national airline. The decision was announced by John Coel, the US President’s special envoy, during a meeting with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko.
Coel stated, “I would like to officially announce here that sanctions against Belavia have been lifted. This decision has been approved and entered into force by all relevant ministries and institutions.”
The same day, the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the US Department of the Treasury issued a general license announcing that transactions with Belavia are permitted, but that the release of frozen assets is excluded from the scope.
According to reports in the Belarusian press, Belavia Deputy General Director Gleb Parkhamovich described the development as “unexpected” for them.
Belavia had faced US sanctions in 2021 after a Ryanair plane was forced to land in Minsk. In 2022, restrictions were imposed on the maintenance and service of the airline’s Boeing aircraft, and in 2023, the company was placed directly on the sanctions list.
However, the most challenging sanctions for the airline were the bans imposed by the European Union and the United Kingdom, which resulted in the closure of these countries’ airspace to Belavia.
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