Belarus expects U.S. to lift all economic sanctions

Belarus on Friday expected a lift of all economic restrictions imposed on the country by the United States after partial suspension of sanctions on certain Belarusian companies, according to the country's Foreign Ministry.

A lift of all economic restrictions, which have been in place for more than a decade, will be especially beneficial for the development of cooperation between the two countries, Foreign Ministry Spokesman Dmitry Mironchik said.

On Oct. 29, the U.S. suspended sanctions against Belarus' State-owned petroleum company Belorusneft and petrochemical company Belneftekhim, including the latter's U.S. subsidiaries.

The companies are allowed to conduct transactions with a limited value of 10,000 U.S. dollars each. Otherwise, the deals will have to be reported to the U.S. State Department within 15 days, during which property of the companies concerned will remain blocked, according to the U.S. Finance Department.

On the same day, the European Union also lifted travel restrictions and poverty freezes targeting 170 individuals including Belarussian President Alexander Lukashenko, who has been in power since 1994, as well as three legal entities in Belarus for a duration of four months.

The EU's decision was taken in response to the release of all Belarusian political prisoners on Aug. 22 and in the context of improving EU-Belarus relations, according to a press release issued by the Foreign Affairs and International relations of the EU.

The EU imposed visa and economic sanctions on Belarus in January 2011 in response to "the continued incarceration of political prisoners and crackdown on political activists, journalists and civil society representatives." Endi