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21.01.2013

Savinykh: Sanctions against Belarus undermine reputation of U.S.

MINSK, 21 January (BelTA) – The sanctions against Belarus undermine the reputation of the United States, Spokesman for the Foreign Ministry of Belarus Andrei Savinykh told the Contours program on the ONT TV channel, BelTA has learnt.

According to Andrei Savinykh, in line with the 1994 Budapest Memorandum on Security Assurances adopted in connection with Belarus’ accession to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, “the United States voluntarily assumed a legally binding commitment to refrain from economic coercion against Belarus”.

Nevertheless, the United States violated its commitment by failing to fulfill the legally binding agreement, Andrei Savinykh said. “It is a serious violation that undermines the reputation of the United States,” the Foreign Ministry Spokesman said.

Andrei Savinykh said that “in the areas free from political clichйs, the dialogue is pretty smooth”. He cited the example of joint control over non-proliferation of nuclear weapons. “We are collaborating in a rather constructive way with Americans in the control over the movement of nuclear weapons across the Belarusian border. They see the role of Belarus here, we have a great transit potential. This cooperation is in the interests of our country and the United States and the entire world. We easily find common ground here. I think these principles should be implemented in other areas, too,” the Spokesman for the Foreign Ministry said.

Despite the U.S. sanctions against Belarus the bilateral trade in 2012 is going to make up about $700 million. Belarus imports from the United States sophisticated technical equipment for technological upgrade of domestic companies. “The United States has a trade surplus. We import much more than we export to the American market. Our export is partially limited because of the sanctions, while we have things to offer. The export of information services is on the rise – it expands by over 60% a year. We could also explore other promising areas,” the representative of the Foreign Ministry said.