Belarus, U.S. note need to maintain positive dynamics in relations

Belarusian Foreign Minister Vladimir Makei and U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Victoria Nuland noted the need to maintain positive dynamics in bilateral relations at a meeting in New York, the Belarusian Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday.

"During the talks, individual attention was given to discussing measures which are extremely important for the full normalization of interaction between Belarus and the U.S. The two sides also exchanged opinions on the situation in the East European region," it said.

In June 2006, the then U.S. President George W. Bush ordered freezing of the financial accounts of President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko and nine other high-ranking Belarusian officials, and banned U.S. citizens from making transactions with them.

In 2007-2008, Washington imposed restrictive economic measures against Belarus' state-owned petrochemical company Belneftekhim.

Starting from 2008, Belarus has no U.S. ambassador. Minsk was forced to recall ambassador to the United States and reduce its diplomatic presence in the country. The number of U.S. Embassy staff in Minsk was reduced by the insistence of the Belarusian side in March 2008.

In recent years, Belarus has improved relations with the West against the backdrop of the role of Minsk in the settlement of the conflict in eastern Ukraine.

Earlier, the U.S. suspended sanctions against a number of Belarusian enterprises, saying that it could further weaken the sanctions pressure, subject to continuation of democratic reforms. Endit