BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS
DATE:
12/03/2008
US Recalls Its Ambassador To Belarus Amid Diplomatic Tension
(RTTNews) - Washington has recalled its ambassador to Belarus for consultations at a time when ties between the U.S. and Belarus are badly strained. The U.S. ambassador to Belarus Karen Stewart left for Washington on Wednesday amid diplomatic tension, the AP quoted the U.S. Embassy in Belarus as saying.
Stewart's absence was temporary and she remains the ambassador to Belarus, the U.S. Embassy in Minsk said in a statement on its Web site.
Belarus recalled its ambassador to Washington last Friday in protest against U.S. sanctions on Belarus' state-controlled oil-processing and chemicals company, Belneftekhim. Last year, the U.S. froze the company's assets and barred American firms from doing business with it.
U.S. officials have called President Alexander Lukashenko "Europe's last dictator" for his authoritarian rule and intolerance of dissent in the ex-Soviet republic of 10 million.
The Embassy statement said the United States is ready to explore steps to improve bilateral relations with Belarus after they release all political prisoners in the country unconditionally.
U.S. policy toward Belarus remains unchanged, the statement added.
Source:
http://news.ino.com/headlines/?newsid=31220081147
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