BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS
DATE:
11/03/2008
U.S. sanctions on Belneftekhim prompted by Minsk convergence with EU - parliamentarians
MINSK. March 11 (Interfax) - The U.S. Administration's sanctions against the Belarusian petrochemical concern Belneftekhim were prompted by convergence of Belarus' and the European Union's positions, which has taken shape of late, in the view of a number of Belarusian parliamentarians.
"Seeing that Belarus' and the European Union's positions were converging, the Americans are trying to cause image damage to Europe and make problems for the Belarusian economy," Nikolai Cherginets, the head of the international affairs and international security committee of the Council of the Republic, the upper chamber of the Belarusian parliament, told Interfax on Friday.
"The U.S. is losing its positions in Europe. The Americans are unhappy about the fact that Belarus is consistently developing its relations with the European Union and is receiving positive responses from EU members," Cherginets said.
Asked whether the EU could join the U.S. sanctions, Cherginets noted, "Judging by EU officials' latest statements on their willingness to cooperate with Belarus, this is unlikely," he said.
"Otherwise, Europe would act against itself," Cherginets said. "The U.S. positions in Europe are still strong, and there are forces there, which are ready to please President Bush at any whim of their bosses overseas," he said.
Cherginets criticized U.S. Ambassador to Belarus Karen Stewart's activity in Belarus. "In the whole period of her work in Minsk, she has acted in a moralizing and snobbish manner characteristic of American politicians. She has still not understood that she is in a sovereign country, not in her kitchen," Cherginets said.
Sergei Gaidukevich, a deputy of the House of Representatives, the lower chamber of the parliament, and the leader of the Belarusian Liberal-Democratic Party, described the U.S. actions as a "painful reaction to Belarus' implementing a step-by-step strategy toward normalizing relations with Europe."
Gaidukevich found it indicative that the imposition of more sanctions on Belneftekhim by the U.S. coincided with the signing of a document on opening the European Commission Delegation office in Minsk.
"The opening of a European Commission office lays a solid foundation in relations between Belarus and the EU, which the U.S. certainly does not like," Gaidukevich told Interfax.
By imposing these sanctions on Belneftekhim, the U.S. Administration "has grossly violated international law and contradicts the obligations it once assumed."
The U.S. president signed a document in 1994 to guarantee that "America would on no account take steps aimed at causing damage to the Belarusian economy," he said.
"This was done in response to the withdrawal of nuclear weapons from Belarus," Gaidukevich said. "So, how can the OSCE and the UN turn a blind eye to the fact that the Americans are violating international documents?" he asked.
Anatoly Krasutsky, a deputy head of the Belarusian House of Representatives' international affairs and links with the CIS committee, told Interfax, "These steps by the U.S. are absolutely inconsistent with a reasonable policy that should be pursued between states in modern conditions."
It should be born in mind that the U.S. made this decision "in the run-up to the presidential elections in the U.S., where the future candidates are already bitterly competing," Krasutsky said. "The U.S. is trying to demonstrate its strength and manners of the global teacher and punish countries that do not follow American policy," he said.
Source:
http://www.interfax.com/3/372961/news.aspx
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