MINSK (TASS): Belarus demanded to close the offices of the public relations department of the US Embassy and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), including the American Center in Minsk.
“On October 20, 2021, the Belarusian authorities informed the United States of new measures aimed at obstructing the work of the US Embassy in Minsk by forcibly closing the offices of the public relations department of the embassy and the US Agency for International Development, including the American Center in Minsk,” the statement said. Julie Fisher, US Special Representative for Belarus, posted on the Embassy’s website on Friday.
The Belarusian authorities are also forcing the embassy to fire more than 20 Belarusian employees, according to a US representative. These measures, the statement says, will not force the American side “to abandon the work of informing and interacting with people, which benefited the Belarusian people and contributed to the development of relations between the citizens of the two countries.”
It is also noted that USAID has been providing assistance to the Belarusian people since the 1990s, including supporting small businesses, families in radiation-affected areas, and helping to combat COVID-19.
After the presidential elections in Belarus in August last year, the United States expanded sanctions against the republic.
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