BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS
DATE:
12/03/2008
US ambassador to Belarus left Minsk, heads for Washington
MINSK, March 12 (Itar-Tass) -- US ambassador to Belarus Karen Stewart on Wednesday left Minsk and is on the way to Washington, the US embassy's press service reported.
The embassy said Stewart's absence would be temporary, and she remained the ambassador to Belarus. The embassy added the United States policy regarding Belarus remained unchanged. The US embassy supported democratic aspirations of the Belarusian people. The US embassy stressed it is only after all political prisoners were unconditionally released that the United States would be ready to consider the subsequent steps toward improving bilateral relations.
A tough statement of the Belarusian side regarding the United States came on March 7. Minsk accused the United States of ignoring in the bilateral dialogue the earlier achieved arrangements, disrupting the coordinated algorithm of actions to normalize relations and imposed the additional restrictive measures of economic nature on enterprises of the Belneftekhim concern. In this connection Belarus announced recalling its ambassador to the United States for consultations. The Belarusian government simultaneously suggested insistently to the US ambassador to Minsk Karen Stewart to leave Belarus "for the same purpose."
Source:
http://www.itar-tass.com/eng/level2.html?NewsID=12470123&PageNum=0
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