U.S.-Belarus Memorandum of Consultations of December 3, 2019

Memorandum of Consultations

1. In Aqaba, Jordan, on December 2-3, 2019, delegations representing the Government of the United States of America and the Government of the Republic of Belarus met to review various aspects of the commercial air relations between the two countries.  Discussions were held in a friendly and constructive atmosphere, and a list of the two delegations is attached (Attachment A).
2. The delegations reached agreement, ad referendum, on the text of an Air Transport Agreement Between the Government of the United States of America and the Government of the Republic of Belarus (the “Agreement”), and the heads of delegation initialled the text (Attachment B).  The Agreement modernizes the air transport relationship between the United States and Belarus.
3. The delegation of Belarus expressed interest in an agreement with the United States on avoidance of double taxation, including with respect to income from the international operation of aircraft. The representatives of the United States noted that the U.S. Department of the Treasury is responsible for such agreements and expressed their intent to promptly bring Belarus’s interest to the attention of the responsible officials.
4. The delegations discussed their respective legal and regulatory frameworks governing code-sharing arrangements and confirmed that their respective aeronautical authorities require air carriers, when selling air transportation, to clearly disclose both the marketing and operating carriers to consumers.
5. The delegation of Belarus inquired about the operational flexibility provisions in Section 2 of Annex 1.  The delegation of Belarus also inquired about the necessity of inclusion of charter air transportation in Annex II, given that Belarus has not generally included charters in its other air transport agreements.  The United States provided the explanation that these provisions are standard in U.S. Open Skies agreements and are fundamental elements of U.S. Open Skies policy.
6. The delegations expressed their intention to use the initialled text as the basis to undertake any domestic procedures necessary to sign and bring the Agreement into force at the earliest possible date.  The delegations further expressed the intent of their respective aeronautical authorities to permit operations consistent with the terms of the Agreement on the basis of comity and reciprocity from the date of signature of this Memorandum of Consultations until such time as the Agreement enters into force.

Attachment A