BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

01.03.2006

Taiwan closes representative office in Belarus

TAIPEI (AFX) - Taiwan has shut down its representative office in Belarus which was unable to boost bilateral exchanges in the absence of diplomatic ties, the foreign ministry here said.

'There has been no exchange of visits by government officials and bilateral trade is minimal - around 20-30 million US dollars,' foreign ministry spokesman Michel Lu told Agence France-Presse.

'Besides, Belarus has remained unfriendly to us and didn't voice its support for Taiwan in the international community,' Lu added.

A number of art groups had exchanged visits since Taiwan in 1996 set up the office in Belarus, which recognizes Beijing over Taipei diplomatically.

Minsk had showed its support for China when the latter passed an anti-secession law in 2005 authorizing its military to use 'non-peaceful' means against Taiwan should the island move toward formal independence.

Source:

http://www.forbes.com/business/feeds/afx/2006/01/03/afx2424114.html

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