Belarus to open consulates general in three Russian cities soon

Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Belarus to Russia Dmitry Krutoi has told the Belarus 1 TV channel where in Russia Belarus is going to open its consulates general in the near future, BelTA reports.

“We see that one embassy branch covers an average of 7-10 Russian regions. This is a lot. My personal opinion is that we should double the number of branches,” said Dmitry Krutoi.

The ambassador noted that a new institution emerged - the Consulate General. “These are structures of higher status, they receive a higher regard at the local level,” he emphasized. “Therefore, St. Petersburg, Rostov-on-Don and Yekaterinburg were chosen to host our first three consulates general. One is already up and running, the other two are in the pipeline. We have decided to open the next three consulates general in Kaliningrad, Vladivostok and Nizhny Novgorod. These are also important locations. Gradually we will upgrade the status of all of our embassy branches to a consulate general, and double their number. The goal is to have 20 branches that would cover 3-4 Russian regions. This is an optimal scheme taking into account the current level of our relations,” the ambassador said.