Sanctions against Belneftekhim come into force

The US sanctions against Lakokraska and Polotsk-Steklovolokno came into force on February 11.

The US Department of State said January 31 that visa restrictions against Belarusian officials would be extended and sanctions on the above mentioned enterprises would be resumed. These steps are a response to the dispersal of a peaceful demonstration in Minsk on December 19 and mass arrests of its participants, BelaPAN reports.

The United States initially imposed economic sanctions against Belneftekhim company in November 2007 due to human rights violations in Belarus. In March 2008, when the Belarusian authorities refused to free former presidential candidate Alyaksandr Kazulin, the US slapped sanctions on all subsidiaries of Belneftekhim.

In September 2008, the US Treasury Department eased economic sanctions against Lakokraska and Polotsk-Steklovolokno companies. This decision was extended several times with the latest extension on November 30, 2010. The decision allowing dealing between American citizens and the above mentioned companies was to remain in force until May 31, 2011.

On February 2, a representative of the US Department of State, Lawrence Silverman, said Brookings Institution in Washington sanctions were not a constant policy of the US toward Belarus. “The sanctions are neither an objective, nor politics, they are a tool, a way to influence. We are closely watching the changes that might follow. We keep on demanding the release of all detainees in the protests and lifting all their accusations, but meanwhile we leave all of the restrictions in force,” Silverman said.

Official Minsk said the sanctions were “absolutely futile”. “Washington’s decision openly violates the U.S. commitments to refrain from the policy of economic coercion against Belarus outlined in the Budapest Memorandum of 1994,” the statement of February of the Belarusian MFA says.

We reserve the right to take proportional reciprocal steps. The Belarusian side reiterates its genuine interest in maintaining constructive relations with the U.S. that serve the interests of both Belarus and the US,” the statement stresses.