BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

26/03/2008

Belarus Suggests U.S. Lift Economic Sanctions

Belarusian Foreign Ministry spokesman Andrey Papou said on March 25 that if the United States really wants "a different relationship" with Belarus, it should lift its sanctions, Belapan reported. Papou was responding to a U.S. State Department statement that the United States wants "a different relationship with Belarus, but that can only happen when the government of Belarus shows commitment to respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms." Papou said that the State Department "misleads the international and American public, attempting to put the blame for the current situation in Belarusian-American relations on the Belarusian side." "Such attempts may be viewed as a manifestation of the moral and political weakness of the U.S. stance toward Belarus," Papou said. He said that it is Washington that should take the blame for the deterioration of the bilateral relationship and that the United States is seeking to "cause the Belarusian people and state as much damage as possible for the sake of subjecting our country to American interests." Minsk on March 7 recalled its ambassador to the United States, Mikhail Khvastou, for consultations as a response to the economic sanctions imposed in November 2007 by the U.S. Treasury Department against Belarus's largest petrochemical company, Belnaftakhim (see "RFE/RL Newsline," March 17, 18, 19, and 25, 2008). Minsk also insisted U.S. Ambassador Karen Stewart temporarily leave Belarus for the same reason, which she did on March 12. Belarusian television has also accused the U.S. Embassy of organizing a spy ring. The Belarusian Committee for State Security (KGB) detained U.S. lawyer Emanuel Zeltser in Minsk on March 12, but has yet to give any explanation for his arrest and continued detention. AM

Source:

http://www.rferl.org/newsline/2008/03/3-cee/cee-260308.asp

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