Belarus orders US to reduce diplomatic presence

Belarus on Wednesday revoked its permission for the United States ambassador's appointment and ordered the embassy in Minsk to reduce its staff. 

The move came after Washington imposed a new round of sanctions on President Alexander Lukashenko's regime earlier this week. 

Foreign Ministry spokesman Anatoly Glaz said in a statement that Belarus wants "to reduce the number of staff" in the US embassy in Minsk "to five people by September 1."

"Against the backdrop of Washington's actions to reduce cooperation in all spheres and to economically strangle our country, we quite objectively don't see any sense in the presence of such significant personnel," Glaz said.

In December, Minsk agreed to the appointment of Julie Fisher as the US ambassador to Belarus. However, Fisher remained in neighboring Lithuania — where she maintains contacts with Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya — as Belarus never issued her an entry visa.

What did Washington say? 

US State Department spokesman Ned Price said Washington was "disappointed" with the current climate.

However, the US embassy in Minsk, as well as Fisher, will "continue to support the democratic aspirations of the people of Belarus," including by engaging with "leaders of the pro-democracy movement," Price told reporters in Washington. 

"It is important to remember in all of this and to acknowledge that Belarusian authorities are responsible for the deterioration in US-Belarus relations through relentless repression against their citizens," Price said.

Why did the US sanction Belarus?

Several Western countries have slapped sanctions on Belarus amid concerns over a crackdown on dissent by Lukashenko. 

In August last year, protests erupted across Belarus following a disputed presidential election. Security forces responded to protests with violence and continue to repress opposition figures. 

The fresh US sanctions target the Belarusian National Olympic Committee — headed by Lukashenko's son — and more than a dozen private companies linked to Lukashenko's regime.

Belarus has recently been in the international spotlight over a series of incidents, including a row between the country's Olympic committee and a sprinter, the suspicious death of a Belarusian activist in Ukraine, and the forced landing of a flight to arrest a dissident. 

 

fb/jsi (AFP, AP)