MINSK, 1 September (BelTA) - Belarus views the decision of the U.S. government to impose restrictive economic measures against Belarusian companies as unreasonable and unlawful. These measures are considered by the Belarusian side as politically motivated. They limit the economic foundation of bilateral cooperation, Permanent Representative of Belarus to the OSCE Alexander Sychev said at the OSCE Permanent Council on 1 September, BelTA informs.
On 11 August 2011, the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the U.S. Department of Finance imposed sanctions on four companies of the Belneftekhim concern: Belshina, Grodno Azot, Grodno Khimvolokno and Naftan. In accordance with this decision, the Belarusian enterprises are included in the special list of individuals and entities whose property and property interests in the U.S. are blocked. U.S natural persons and legal entities are prohibited to have any dealings with these companies. According to the United States, the reasons behind the sanctions are the alleged “human rights violations associated with the political repressions in Belarus”.
Alexander Sychev noted that U.S. actions are a flagrant violation of the 1994 Budapest Memorandum, in accordance to which the United States pledged not to apply coercive economic measures against the country in exchange for voluntary abandonment by Belarus of nuclear weapons.
The U.S. decision is even more bewildering given that the security guarantees to Belarus were documented in the memorandum and confirmed by the United States in a joint statement of the Foreign Minister of Belarus and the U.S. Secretary of State following their meeting in Astana on 1 December 2010.
Furthermore, as a signatory to the Helsinki Final Act, the U.S. pledged “to refrain from all kinds of economic coercion designed to subordinate to their own interest the exercise by another participating State of the rights inherent in its sovereignty”.
Alexander Sychev noted that the U.S. actions run contrary to the UN General Assembly Resolution 62/183, which states that "no State may use or encourage the use of unilateral economic, political or any other type of measures to coerce another State in order to obtain from it the subordination of the exercise of its sovereign rights.”
The UNGA Resolution 62/162 entitled “Human rights and unilateral coercive measures” calls upon all States “to stop adopting or implementing any unilateral measures which are non-compliant with international law and the Charter of the United Nations and the norms and principles governing peaceful relations between nations, particularly coercive measures with all their extraterritorial consequences”.
Alexander Sychev said: “The methods of intimidation, economic pressure and coercion, which the U.S. applies to the Republic of Belarus, are totally unacceptable in international practice and can only lead to tension in relations between the sovereign states and on the international arena in general. Arguments cited by the U.S. that the sanctions are ostensibly not directed against ordinary people, are not true, because the companies against whom the sanctions are applied, employ about 40,000 people. The sanctions are a direct pressure on the socio-economic interests of the people working at these enterprises.”
The U.S. sanctions against the four Belarusian companies are nothing but a manifestation of unfair competition against the well-known and reputable Belarusian companies. The aforesaid companies work entirely in the economic interests of the Belarusian people. Their business is transparent. They support many social projects in the country. Thanks to a successful marketing strategy, the companies have been able to build up their sci-tech, production and personnel capacity and find their place on international markets. In this case any restrictions on the operation of the abovementioned companies may have a negative impact on the companies, their staff and ordinary people of Belarus.
In the light of the recent U.S. unfriendly moves towards Belarus and its people, Belarus has been forced to freeze a number of bilateral projects with the United States and reserves the right for adequate retaliation measures.
At the same time, Belarus stays committed to all its international obligations.
The Belarusian official called upon the U.S. to abandon the policy of economic sanctions, respond to the UN calls and decisions and revise the practice of applying discriminatory measures against Belarusian companies. “We also ask the OSCE current chairmanship and relevant organizations, namely the Office of the Coordinator of OSCE Economic and Environmental Activities, to examine whether the U.S. actions breach the OSCE obligations,” Alexander Sychev said.
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