BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS
DATE:
13/08/2009
Top US official to make rare Belarus visit
MINSK (AFP) - A top US official is to make a rare visit to Belarus Friday, the Belarussian foreign ministry said, as President Alexander Lukashenko seeks a rapprochement with the West after years in the cold.
US Assistant Secretary of State for European Affairs Philip Gordon will have meetings with Lukashenko's administration and the foreign ministry, the ministry said in a brief statement on its website.
"The whole range of issues in Belarus-US relations will be discussed in the talks," it added.
The meeting comes amid signs of a warming in ties between the West and Lukashenko's Belarus, which was dubbed "Europe's last dictatorship" by the previous US administration of president George W. Bush.
Lukashenko, after meeting a US Congressional delegation in June, ordered the release of a US citizen, Emanuel Zeltser, whose imprisonment last year strained ties with Washington.
The Belarus strongman also voiced hope for a restoration of full diplomatic ties, provided the United States lifted sanctions on state oil and chemicals firm Belneftekhim that Washington imposed after accusing Minsk of rights abuses.
Relations between Belarus and the United States hit a low last year when the US ambassador left the country and several other US diplomats were forced out amid a row over the US economic sanctions.
Lukashenko's move for closer ties with the West has irked neighbour and traditional ally Russia, prompting a succession of noisy bilateral squabbles.
Source:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20090813/pl_afp/belarususdiplomacy_20090813132541
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