Belarus to open embassy in Vatican next year

December 24, Pozirk. Belarus will open the embassy to the Holy See before September, the government has announced.
The Council of Ministers’ Directive No 988 published on the National Legal Internet Portal on Christmas Eve authorized the finance ministry to provide funding for this purpose.
Alaksandar Łukašenka may seek assistance from the Vatican in improving ties with the West, some political analysts speculated.
The position of Apostolic Nuncio to Belarus has been vacant since September after the departure of Archbishop Ante Jozić, who had represented the Holy See in Minsk since 2020.
Catholicism is the second-largest Christian denomination in Belarus. About 1.5 million Catholics live in the country, including more than 10,000 Greek Catholics.
After the 2020 presidential election, the relationship between the state and the Catholic Church deteriorated as many priests and faithful denounced police brutality and repression. Some clerics were arrested or forced to flee the country.
In February 2022, Russia started a full-scale war against Ukraine in which the Belarusian authorities supported the Kremlin. The Vatican has repeatedly called for a ceasefire and peace talks.

Łukašenka reiterates invitation to Pope Francis to visit Belarus
- PoliticsŁatuška proposes making grand bargain with Minsk conditional on ending repression, migration crisis and war supportThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- PoliticsCichanoŭskaja speaks of political prisoners at high-level dinnerThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- PoliticsUCP leader Kazłoŭ says he fled Belarus because of surveillanceThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- Politics, Security, Society
- PoliticsUCP leader, after leaving Belarus vows to continue political activity abroadThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- EconomyŁukašenka calls for boosting ongoing projects with MordoviaThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- PoliticsProsecutors forward to court case against ex-Kalinoŭski fighter ŠabuckiThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- Economy
- PoliticsŁukašenka eyes series about JFK's killerThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- EconomyMinsk, Minsk region account for half of GDP in January-SeptemberThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- EconomyHousing construction up 10.2 percent in January-SeptemberThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- SportUkraine pushes to ban two Belarusian neutral athletes from competitionsThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- SocietyDead Nazi collaborator on trial at Supreme CourtThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- EconomyBiełstat: Belarusian companies’ CapEx up 31 percent in January-SeptemberThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- Politics, SecurityGeneral Staff chief pledges to expand military ties with VietnamThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- SocietyFarm official suspected of taking bribes from foreignerThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- SecurityGeneral Staff chief off to VietnamThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- Economy, PoliticsŁukašenka gave Mašenski’s company preferential treatment in dealings with Biełšyna, says BelPolThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- PoliticsBiełaja Ruś party signs cooperation roadmap with Cuban communistsThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- SecurityIrregular migration from Belarus to EU up 20 percent year-on-yearThe material is available only to POZIRK+