Europe's 'last dictatorship' is reportedly close to being back in business with the U.S.

The U.S. might soon have a new old friend, Bloomberg reports.

U.S. Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs David Hale met with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko in Minsk on Tuesday, and now the U.S. reportedly plans to return an ambassador to Minsk, the capital of Belarus, for the first time in 11 years, and vice versa; Hale called it a "historic" first step in restoring bilateral ties. The freeze in diplomatic relations between the countries began in 2008 because the U.S. made allegations of human-rights abuses by the Belarusian government, which has been led by Lukashenko, who has been called the "last dictator in Europe," for the last 25 years.

Hale said Lukashenko has taken "concrete steps" toward improving the relationship between Washington and Minsk, though it's unclear what those were. While there's no indication the disagreement over human-rights issues was resolved, Washington is reportedly keen on keeping Russia at bay in Eastern Europe. As it stands, Moscow is Lukashenko's "main ally and patron," Bloomberg reports, but Minsk has reportedly been reluctant to get much closer with Russia, which has its eyes on the formation of a "union state" with Belarus. So, perhaps, the renewed relationship is meant to serve as a buffer for Russian influence not just on Belarus, but the region as a whole.

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Lukashenko also reportedly told Hale that as long as it doesn't undermine Belarus' security, he would not allow the deployment of short- or medium-range missiles in the country, which Moscow has hinted at in the past. Read more at Bloomberg.