Belarus Demands Reduction of US Embassy Staff by September 1

Belarus has urged the United States to reduce the number of its embassy staff in Minsk and has withdrawn its previous approval for Julie Fischer to be appointed as ambassador in response to recent sanctions imposed by Washington, according to Voice of America.

According to a representative from the Belarusian Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported by Reuters, Minsk aims to cut the number of U.S. embassy personnel to five by September 1.

It is noteworthy that earlier this week, the United States imposed new economic sanctions against the regime of Alexander Lukashenko. The Treasury Department included companies such as Belaruskali and Belneftegaz in the sanctions list, as well as the Belarusian Investigative Committee and the Belarusian National Olympic Committee (NOC). Additionally, sanctions were imposed on 23 individuals, including businessmen and representatives of Belarusian state companies.