Фото: пресс-служба правительства Беларуси.
Christopher (Chris) Panico is among the members of the US delegation that arrived in Minsk. According to Reform.news, the official has replaced Chris Smith in talks with the Belarusian regime. Smith left his post as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Eastern Europe in the summer.
Panico appeared in a photo published by the Belarusian government’s press service. He is walking alongside Belarusian KGB chief Ivan Tertel.
Christopher Panico is a career US diplomat. His current position has not been publicly specified by the State Department. Panico previously served as Deputy Director of the Office of Intelligence Operations and Oversight at the State Department’s Bureau of Intelligence and Research (INR). He also worked in Minsk with the OSCE mission before returning there as a US diplomat, serving as a political-economic officer and head of the relevant embassy section from 2010 to 2012.