BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

02/04/2008

Belarus suggests reduction of U.S. diplomats

MOSCOW, April 2 (Xinhua) -- Belarus on Wednesday suggested that the United States further cut its embassy staff to seven in Minsk, after Belarus reduced the number of its diplomats in Washington, according to reports reaching here.

"We would like our diplomatic missions to have equal numbers - in line with the one plus six formula, which means an ambassador and six other embassy personnel," RIA Novosti news agency cited Belarussian Deputy Foreign Minister Viktor Gaisenok as saying.

The Belarussian-U.S. ties soured since Washington imposed sanctions last November against the country's state-controlled petrochemical company Belneftekhim and froze the assets of its U.S. subsidiary.

On Belarus' advice, the U.S. embassy in Minsk has cut staff from 38 to 17 in March after Belarus recalled its ambassador and shrank its diplomatic mission in Washington.

Source:

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-04/02/content_7906507.htm

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