BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

21/06/2006

Russia legislators criticize US sanctions against Belarus

Source: Trend

Author: €.Mammadov

(Itar-Tass) - Members of the Russian Federation Council upper house of parliament criticize a new set of sanctions against Belarus by the USA, saying these steps are an echo of the Cold War and affect Russia's interests.

The U.S. Treasury Department announced on Monday that the U.S. banking system is expected to block assets of the Belarussian leadership, including the president, the Security Council secretary, the justice and interior ministers, the chief of the Belarussian KGB, the head of the Central Electoral Commission and the head of the State Television and Radio Co, reports Trend.

In mid-May, the USA together wit the European Union already took punitive measures against Minsk. Members of the Belarussian government and connected with them people were banned entry to the USA and the EU on any visas.

The chairman of the Federation Council's committee for CIS affairs, Vadim Gustov, believes such policy "is becoming ridiculous nowadays" as the Belarussian leadership is in no way connected with the United States and hardly has financial assets there.

The chairman of the committee for science, culture, education, health and ecology, Viktor Shudegov, echoed him. "Sanctions cannot be introduced only because someone does not like some other person," he said. He brought to mind the fact that the Belarussian people had elected Alexander Lukashenko as president legally, thus showing their attitude to him and the situation in the republic.

The first deputy chairman of the committee for federal affairs and regional policy, Valery Kadokhov, drew attention to the fact that the United States is not pressuring Georgia and Ukraine, "where political and economic dissentions are underway".

"All kinds of declarations, sanctions, instructions against Belarus not only from the USA but also from Europe, smell of the Cold War times," said the deputy chairman of the committee for international affairs, Vassily Likhachev.

Russian experts connected with preparations for the G8 summit in St. Petersburg, believe the issue of democracy in Belarus can be among the most sensitive issues to be discussed at the summit.

Source:

http://www.trend.az/?mod=shownews&news=21855&lang=en