I fear it’s not that simple. We have been trying to clarify things with Belgium Post but it’s been… complicated.
One one hand, they customer support reaffirmed directly to us that the content of https://news.bpost.be/fr-corona is up to date (which although it does say “parcels” at the top it also says “and mail”). But, when right after we queried about some specific countries that are not listed, they reply those also work too, despite not being listed.
We also have the list that you received from them and that you forwarded to us. We asked them about some of those and we were told that, eg, they are able to send regular letter post items to Cuba.
Moreover, another Belgian postcrosser contacted them (at our request) to try to clarify all this and was told that, besides delays to Belarus and Russia, that they are able to send mail to all destinations.
So we now have 4 different answers that we can pick from. When we asked why the inconsistencies and what’s correct, we were told they are unable to give a list of destinations that don’t work because it keeps changing. And yet, they have a list published. As I said, not simple…
My best guess is that the list you received is a list of embargoed/at war countries (Cuba, Iran, North, Syria, parts of Ukraine) to which most countries can’t send mail to.
But why https://news.bpost.be/fr-corona is still published and their customer support keeps giving conflicting replies about it (either saying it’s up to date, and then saying there’s others that work too), I just don’t know.
We’ll keep at it and hopefully soon we’ll have a more clear answer.
I gladly believe Bpost when they answer you that they cover all destinations. Indeed, via the forum, I send letters to countries for which the Postal Monitor informs that Bpost does not ensure the sending. And yet, the shipments arrive well. I was able to see this again very recently with French Guiana. It is therefore frustrating to potentially not be assigned an address, for example from French Guiana, when the mail I send there arrives well!
We do not make decisions based on a few successful cases.
Some mail are lucky to “hitchhike” on a different mode of transportation or sent via an unusual route. It could be a temporary or one-time only deal. There’s no guarantee that everyone else’s postcards will be treated in the same way.
The top priority of Postal Monitor is to “protect” everyone’s postcards from being rejected, returned, stranded, or lost.
We’d like to keep such incidents to the minimum, that’s why we are looking for a solid answer from the postal agency.
I was just wondering because I pulled a Russian address. On the homepage of the Austrian Post it says that Russia and Belarus are only open as a destination for document shipments. Does anyone happen to know what that means? I am afraid that my cards to Belarus and Russia will not arrive.
Postcards typically fit under the documents category of mail (as opposed to “goods”), so there shouldn’t be a problem here. Please do send your postcard, when you can!
The links for Italy are no longer valid, the new location is at Aggiornamenti operativi - Poste Italiane and the pdf with the country list on that page, under Paesi/Località/CAP per i quali il servizio è momentaneamente sospeso.
The relevant header for the list of affected countries is “Tutti i prodotti di CORRISPONDENZA” (all mail products)”
There are however no additional countries other than the ones already listed on the postal monitor.
While that page may be different, the PDF file it links to is still the same one (has the same URL) so I think no changes are needed. Thank you for the report nonetheless.
Postal Monitor has been updated for:
American Samoa, Guam, Macao, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Northern Mariana Islands, Palau, Spain, Thailand, US Minor Outlying Islands.
Thank you for reminding me of the links on the first post.
When Covid-19 and mail suspensions started, postal agencies made announcement on their website.
These days quite a few countries post changes else where.
For example, Albania posts their latest updates on Facebook, Brunei posts on Instagram, Paraguay posts on Twitter, and some others share information only by email or social media messaging.
I removed the links on the first post to avoid the confusion.
The most accurate and up-to-date source of information can be found on the Postal Monitor. Just click “source”
I’m happy to report that we have restored today mail to the only 2 countries which had no inbound&outbound mail:
Ecuador: Their previous postal operator (Correos del Ecuador) has been replaced by Servicios Postales del Ecuador earlier this year. They started with resuming the domestic service and seem to have resumed internationally now to some destinations.
Afghanistan: Their operator, Afghanistan Post, has resumed both inbound and outbound international mail services again.
Even if we have pretty much no active members in these countries, it’s still good news whenever the postal world gets more connected again.
Thank you, Paulo!
However, there is a mistake in the Postal monitor: the countries listed on the page of the Ecuadorian post are those they do send to, so your list should include all the other countries, except those listed on their page.
Destinos habilitados para la admisión internacional:
When we asked why the inconsistencies and what’s correct, we were told they are unable to give a list of destinations that don’t work because it keeps changing. And yet, they have a list published. As I said, not simple…
Belarus is already on the way 
Clearly I need more sleep.