BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

15/11/2007

Belarus issues formal protest over U.S. sanctions

MINSK, November 15 (RIA Novosti) - Belarus's Foreign Ministry handed over on Thursday a formal note of protest to the U.S. ambassador to the country over sanctions against state-owned petrochemical company Belneftekhim.

Washington, which has dubbed the ex-Soviet state "Europe's last dictatorship," banned all dealings on Tuesday between Americans and the firm and froze the company's assets under U.S. jurisdiction.

"The United States violated a bilateral trade agreement. And Belarus demands the U.S. return Belneftekhim's assets and property," Foreign Ministry spokesman Andrei Popov said.

He also said Minsk would not be responsible for the financial consequences of the move, without elaborating.

At a news conference on Wednesday, Popov said the U.S. sanctions were in violation of international accords, including a bilateral trade agreement promising better access to the U.S. market for Belarusian goods and services, and the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, under which it pledged not to apply economic pressure on Belarus for political motives.

Popov also appealed to the U.S. administration to "give up the practice of intimidation and pressure with regard to Belarus."

The U.S. and the European Union have accused Belarus's president, Alexander Lukashenko, of clamping down on dissent, stifling the media and rigging elections. Lukashenko, who was re-elected to a third term last year, and other senior Belarusian officials have been blacklisted from entering the U.S. and EU.

Belneftekhim processes mainly Russian crude. The company plans to start producing and refining oil in Venezuela, and to sell it on Latin American markets. It has a U.S. subsidiary, Belneftekhim USA.

Source:

http://en.rian.ru/world/20071115/88258693.html

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