BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

21/03/2008

Minsk not seeking to end relations with U.S. - PM

MINSK. March 21 (Interfax) - Minsk is not seeking to end relations with the United States, Belarusian Prime Minister Sergei Sidorsky said in Minsk on Friday.

"Belarus is not seeking to cut diplomatic relations with the U.S. We are continuing to display willingness to maintain an equal dialogue with the U.S. and the EU," Sidorsky told journalists on Friday.

Sidorsky said he discussed the issue with Russian Prime Minister Viktor Zubkov during a session of the Council of Ministers of the Belarus-Russia Union in Minsk on Friday.

Belarus has taken some steps to improve relations with the U.S. and the EU, Sidorsky said. "The U.S. sanctions against the Belarusian concern Belneftekhim go against the coordinated algorithm of steps aimed at normalizing our relations," he said.

The U.S. has dropped the bilateral obligations in relation to Belarus it undertook earlier, he said.

Source:

http://www.interfax.com/3/377070/news.aspx

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