BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

26/03/2008

Belarus 'exposes US spy network'

The diplomatic row between the US and Belarus has escalated after Minsk's intelligence service said it has discovered a US spy ring.

"The information about this group being exposed is completely true," a KGB (Belarusian intelligence service) official said on Tuesday. "A group conducting espionage for the United States has been uncovered. "

The remarks made after state television reported at the weekend that a spying network of 10 Belarus nationals recruited by a US diplomat had been exposed without giving more details.

KGB chairman Yuri Zhadobin later told the media that no arrests had been made in what he said was a "preventive" operation. New checks would determine if laws had been broken.

US charge d'affaires Jonathan Moore denied the allegation and told local media that "we have no spies working on the territory of Belarus. These are people working for the diplomatic security service. "

The US announced on Monday that it was cutting its diplomatic staff in Minsk from 35 to 17, in line with a request from Belarus.

Both countries recalled their ambassadors earlier this month. The move followed Washington's imposition of sanctions on the Belarusian state oil company Belneftekhim.

Also on Tuesday, Police clashed with thousands of opposition protesters turned out in defiance of a government ban on the anniversary of the 1918 declaration of the first, short-lived independent Belarusian state, traditionally called "Freedom Day."

Source:

http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=49076§ionid=351020606

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