Together with Cowl, an American official who replaced Chris Smith arrived in Minsk
Christopher Panico is part of the American delegation that arrived in Minsk.
According to Reform.news, this official replaced Chris Smith in negotiations with the Belarusian regime, who left his post as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Eastern Europe in the summer.
Panico was captured in a photo by the government's press service. He is walking next to KGB head Ivan Tsertsel.
Christopher Panico is a career American diplomat. His current position is not publicly stated by the State Department. His background indicates that Panico previously served as Deputy Director of the Office of Intelligence Operations and Oversight at the Bureau of Intelligence and Research (INR) of the State Department.
He worked in Minsk as part of the OSCE mission, and then returned there as an American diplomat, serving as a political-economic officer and head of the relevant department at the U.S. Embassy from 2010 to 2012.
Panico has a reputation as an excellent expert on Belarus and the region.
Interestingly, in 2000, he was even accidentally detained on a street in the capital and held for several hours along with demonstrators arrested on Freedom Day.
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