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Belarus slams EU over new sanctions

23 March 2012 20:27 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. The Belarusian Foreign Ministry on Friday rebuked the European Union for expanding sanctions against its citizens and businesses, APA reports quoting Xinhua.

"European politicians are still hostage to the logic of force and blackmail," Foreign Ministry press secretary Andrei Savinykh said in response to the EU’s decision on Friday to freeze the assets of 29 Belarusian companies and ban EU travel for 12 individuals.

"The step shifts even further the prospect of normalizing relations and resuming the dialogue on sensitive issues," he said.

He added that due to the most recent EU move, Belarus "sees no need for the presence of the recalled ambassadors in the territory of Belarus as they supported the decision on the question."

The ambassadors of EU member states were withdrawn from Belarus last month amid tensions between the two sides over human rights disputes.

The EU slapped fresh sanctions on Belarus on Friday in a bid to persuade Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko to free all political prisoners.