Belarus freezes joint nuclear fuel swap projects with U.S.
MINSK. Aug 19 (Interfax) - The decision by the United States government to impose sanctions on Belarus is an unlawful step, to which Belarus is responding by freezing joint projects for exchanging highly enriched nuclear fuel, the Belarusian Foreign Ministry said.
"The new economic sanctions imposed by the U.S. run counter to the spirit of cooperation. In this situation, Belarus has decided to freeze the projects for exchange in highly enriched nuclear fuel, currently developed with the U.S. as part of the U.S. Department of Defense initiative to reduce global threat and to create an MBA program at the Belarusian State University," Foreign Ministry spokesman A. Savinykh told Interfax.
"Belarus will continue to ensure the physical safety of the nuclear fuel fully in accordance with international obligations in the area of non-proliferation. Nor do we rule out any other retaliatory measures," Savinykh added.
"The discontinuation by the United States of the acts of economic coercion against Belarus and the restoration of the normal climate in the relationship will allow to resume cooperation on this project," Savinykh said.
Belarus believes that "the decision by the U.S. government to impose economic restrictive measures against Belarus is an unfounded and unlawful step," he said.
"These are politically motivated decisions, which conflict with the U.S.' international commitments," he said.
The U.S. actions are a gross violation of the 1994 Budapest Memorandum, whereby the U.S. committed itself not to use any act of economic coercion against Belarus, Savinykh said.
"The U.S. also violated the provisions of the Helsinki Final Act, which compels all States 'to refrain from any act of economic coercion designed to subordinate to their own interest the exercise by another participating State of the rights inherent in its sovereignty,'" Savinykh said.
The U.S. actions also conflict with the United Nations General Assembly resolution 62/183, whereby 'no State may use or encourage the use of economic, political or any other type of measures to coerce another State in order to obtain from it the subordination of the exercise of its sovereign rights,'" Savynykh said.