BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

15/11/2007

Belarus protests U.S. sanctions

MINSK, Belarus, Nov. 15 (UPI) -- Belarus lodged a formal protest Thursday with the United States over sanctions against its state-owned oil company.

The action came two days after the U.S. government froze Belneftekhim's U.S. assets and banned U.S. citizens and companies from dealing with it. The company, which processes Russian crude oil and is extending its reach into Venezuela, has a U.S. subsidiary.

A spokesman for the Belarus Foreign Ministry, Andrei Popov, said the protest was handed to the U.S. embassy in Minsk, the Russian news agency Novosti reported.

"The United States violated a bilateral trade agreement," Popov said. "And Belarus demands the U.S. return Belneftekhim's assets and property."

U.S. officials have referred to Belarus as "Europe's last dictatorship." President Alexander Lukashenko, elected to a third term last year, is banned from entering the United States.

Source:

http://www.upi.com/NewsTrack/Top_News/2007/11/15/belarus_protests_us_sanctions/9212/

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