Belarus to close general consulates in Odessa, Gdansk and Milan

Belarusian General Consulates in Odessa (Ukraine), Gdansk (Poland) and Milan (Italy) will be closed, Foreign Minister Uladzimir Makei said. The consulate in Odessa will be closed already this year, according to the Council of Ministers resolution.

"We will stop operation of two more foreign missions in some other countries. Decisions are underway," BELTA quotes the Belarusian foreign minister as saying. 

Simultaniously, Belarus will open embassies in an undisclosed African country and in a country in Europe. Uladzimir Makei noted that since Belarus is "not so large-scale" as Russia or China, "one needs to specify the list of countries interaction with which will have the greatest impact." Such a list was drawn up long ago but decision was made to "finetune some aspects," the Minister said.

Belarus will have 66 foreign missions in 56 countries after the cuts.