BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

04/05/2008

Belarus expels 11 more US diplomats

Eleven more US diplomats have been expelled from Belarus amid escalating tensions between Washington and Minsk.

Relations between the two countries began to deteriorate in November, after the US imposed sanctions on the Belarus national energy company over alleged human rights abuses, a move Minsk has denounced as a "crude violation" of international law.

Last month, Belarus ordered 10 US diplomats to leave because Washington had refused to comply with a demand to reduce staff at the Minsk embassy from 17 to six.

The reduction in embassy staff was the second Belarus had sought from the United States this year. In March, Belarus asked the US ambassador to leave the country after the United States issued a clarification of US sanctions that apply to the national oil products firm Belneftekhim.

Belarus says the clarification amounted to an expansion of the sanctions, but Washington denies this.

The US Embassy in Belarus is now down to 4 people, after starting the year with a staff of 35. The embassy will remain open, but it will practically offer no services.

Source:

http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=54262§ionid=351020606

Google