BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

05/05/2008

Belarus accuses US of espionage

Belarus accuses the United States of recruiting citizens into a spy ring aimed at undermining the ex-Soviet republic, the KGB said.

"The US Embassy had hired 10 local citizens to take photographs of police officials, airports and villages near the state border," Valery Nadtachayev, a KGB spokesman told Belarusian television on Monday.

The relationship between the two countries became strained after US imposed sanctions on a state-controlled company and travel restrictions on President Alexander Lukashenko and other top government officials.

The US Embassy in Minsk declined comment, but in Washington, US State Department spokesman Tom Casey rejected the accusations out of hand.

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 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=54441§ionid=351020606

Google