Foreign Ministry: Extension of sanctions doesn’t allow for the changes in the Belarus-US relations

The decision on sanctions adopted in 2006 and prolonged for another year is based on the initially wrong message, spokesman for the Belarusian Ministry of Foreign Affairs believes.

Belarus intends to continue the dialogue with American partners to normalize relations, spokesman for the Belarusian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Dmitry Mironchyk said when commenting on the one-year extension of the Executive Order issued by President George W. Bush on the national emergency with respect to Belarus.

The decision adopted on 10 June mirrors the previous similar acts and does not take into account the changes in the Belarusian-American relations, Dmitry Mironchyk noted. “We intend to continue the dialogue with American partners with a view to normalizing relations and abolishing completely Executive Order No. 13405 issued by President George W. Bush on 16 June 2006. We hope that the jubilee, 10th year of sanctions, will be the last one,” he stressed.

According to Dmitry Mironchyk, “it is obvious that the decision on sanctions adopted by the Bush Administration in 2006 and prolonged for another year is based on the initially wrong message stating that Belarus is a potential threat to the U.S. security,” BelTA informs. The spokesman for the Belarusian Ministry of Foreign Affairs stressed that “in reality our country has been making a widely recognized contribution to regional and international security in recent years.”