BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

24/03/2008

Belarus: U.S. cuts diplomatic presence amid deepening bilateral rifts

By Yuras Karmanau, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

MINSK, Belarus - The United States will cut staffing at its embassy in Minsk in half, bowing to Belarus' demands amid a marked worsening in relations between the two countries, the Foreign Ministry said Monday.

The announcement followed a Belarusian state television report that accused the embassy of setting up a spy ring in the ex-Soviet republic.

The U.S. Embassy refused comment on either the TV report or the Foreign Ministry statement on the staffing cut.

The ministry said the top U.S. diplomat in Belarus, Jonathan Moore, had informed the ministry that the number of diplomatic officers in Belarus would be decreased in order to make the two countries' diplomatic representation equal.

No specific figure was given, but the U.S. Embassy in Minsk previously had 35 employees, while the Belarusian Embassy in Washington has 18.

Tensions between the two nations worsened following Washington's imposition of sanctions last year on the state-controlled oil-processing and chemicals company Belneftekhim.

The company's assets were frozen and American companies were barred from doing business with it, due to its ties with President Alexander Lukashenko.

The United States and other European countries have labelled Lukashenko "Europe's last dictator" for his intolerance of dissent and oppression of critics.

Earlier this month, the U.S. ambassador returned to Washington under pressure from the Belarusian government, which also withdrew its ambassador and demanded the Belneftekhim sanctions be lifted.

Last week, the U.S. Embassy stopped issuing visas to Belarusians.

Meanwhile, independent analyst Yaroslav Romanchuk called the state TV report, aired Sunday, "clunky Soviet-style propaganda."

The report claimed 10 Belarusians were recruited to collect information for use against Belarus and turned it over to the FBI.

It said they were provided with an apartment near the embassy and equipped with cameras, binoculars and other items.

The report did not identify sources and did not say what kind of information the alleged spies were supposed to be collecting.

It showed footage of a man, seemingly under questioning, saying that his duties included "revealing potential terrorists and spotting enemy surveillance."

Source:

http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/World/2008/03/24/5088826-ap.html

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