Belarusian Foreign Ministry: United States still unwilling to have normal relations
MINSK. June 11 (Interfax) - The Belarusian Foreign Ministry has called counterproductive the U.S. decision to extend the period of sanctions on certain Belarusian senior officials.
"U.S. President Barack Obama's extension for one year of the executive order regarding Belarus made by U.S. President George W. Bush in 2006 demonstrates that sanction rhetoric, counterproductive attempts to use force and unwillingness to develop international relations on a normal basis continue to prevail in the U.S. policy," the ministry press service quoted press secretary Dmitry Mironchik as saying.
"We recommend that the White House pay attention to the absurdity of provisions of the executive order which alleged "an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States" coming from Belarus, especially against the backdrop of real examples of interaction between our countries in most important global and regional security affairs," Mironchik said.
Such decisions impede the development of Belarus-U.S. relations, he indicated.
U.S. President Barack Obama has extended for one year the U.S. sanctions on Belarusian senior officials. The applicable order has been filed with the Congress.
The first executive order of the kind was signed in 2006 by the 43rd President George W. Bush administration. It froze property and assets of ten Belarusian government members, including President Alexander Lukashenko. The order has been annually extended since then.
The United States imposed sanctions on concern Belneftekhim on November 13, 2007.
U.S. sanctions on two banks with Iranian capital operating in Belarus, Onerbank and Bank Trade Capital, were put into place in August 2010.
In May 2013 the United States officially lifted sanctions on Belarusian company Beltechexport .
The Belarusian authorities repeatedly declared the need for the full lift of U.S. sanctions and the restoration of U.S. Embassy staff to normal numbers.
