Support The Moscow Times!

U.S. Urged to Back Off Belarus

Zubkov shaking hands with Lukashenko during talks in Minsk on Friday. Ria-novosti
MINSK -- Prime Minister Viktor Zubkov has called on the United States to ease its pressure on Belarus and vowed support for its president, Alexander Lukashenko.

Belarus is involved in a diplomatic spat with the United States, which calls the country the "last dictatorship in Europe" and has imposed a travel ban on Lukashenko over Minsk's detention of an opposition politician.

"The Russian Federation thinks this is a politicized step. We call on Washington to rethink its line on Belarus," Zubkov told Lukashenko at a news conference for an economic forum.

U.S. Ambassador Karen Stewart left Minsk temporarily earlier this month in the wake of two requests for her departure over Washington's imposition of financial sanctions against Belneftekhim, the state oil products company.

Stewart said Tuesday that Washington would only hold talks on easing sanctions if Belarus released its most prominent political detainee, Alexander Kozulin, who ran against Lukashenko in the 2006 election that kept him in power.

Belarus on Thursday suggested that Stewart would be barred from returning to Minsk until financial sanctions imposed on Belneftekhim were lifted.

On Friday, Belarussian Prime Minister Sergei Sidorsky said his country had no interest in a confrontation with the United States nor in a worsening of relations.

"The Belarussian side does not want an escalation of tensions with the U.S.A., and what is more, it does not want diplomatic complications," Sidorsky said.

He also said the sanctions violated multilateral and bilateral agreements among Belarus, the European Union and the United States on the normalization of their relations.

"Belarus has taken steps to normalize relations with the U.S. and EU. The additional measures taken against Belneftekhim break the agreed-upon structures," Sidorsky said.

Sign up for our free weekly newsletter

Our weekly newsletter contains a hand-picked selection of news, features, analysis and more from The Moscow Times. You will receive it in your mailbox every Friday. Never miss the latest news from Russia. Preview
Subscribers agree to the Privacy Policy

A Message from The Moscow Times:

Dear readers,

We are facing unprecedented challenges. Russia's Prosecutor General's Office has designated The Moscow Times as an "undesirable" organization, criminalizing our work and putting our staff at risk of prosecution. This follows our earlier unjust labeling as a "foreign agent."

These actions are direct attempts to silence independent journalism in Russia. The authorities claim our work "discredits the decisions of the Russian leadership." We see things differently: we strive to provide accurate, unbiased reporting on Russia.

We, the journalists of The Moscow Times, refuse to be silenced. But to continue our work, we need your help.

Your support, no matter how small, makes a world of difference. If you can, please support us monthly starting from just $2. It's quick to set up, and every contribution makes a significant impact.

By supporting The Moscow Times, you're defending open, independent journalism in the face of repression. Thank you for standing with us.

Once
Monthly
Annual
Continue
paiment methods
Not ready to support today?
Remind me later.

Read more