DATE:
25/03/2008
By MICHAEL SCHWIRTZ
The State Department announced that "with great regret" it would cut the staff of the American Embassy in Belarus by almost half amid a widening rift between the countries. "The unfortunate actions by the Belarus authorities demonstrate that Belarus has taken a path of confrontation and isolation rather than a path of engagement and democratic reform," the State Department said in a statement. Belarus successfully pressed the United States ambassador, Karen B. Stewart, to return to Washington this month and recalled its ambassador.
Source:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/25/world/europe/25briefs-USCUTSEMBASS_BRF.html