U.S. diplomats leave Belarus as tensions heighten

MINSK, Belarus (AP) -- Eleven U.S. diplomats left Belarus on Saturday after being declared persona non grata amid escalating diplomatic tensions between Washington and the former Soviet nation, an embassy official said.

On Wednesday, Belarus ordered 10 of the embassy's 11 diplomats to leave the country, giving them 72 hours to comply.

All 11 left Saturday, a U.S. Embassy official said on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to speak to the media.

The departures leave the U.S. Embassy with just four U.S. staffers, down from 35 at the start of the year. The U.S. ambassador left in March after Belarus pulled its ambassador from Washington.

The State Department has warned Belarus that it may order the Belarusian Embassy in Washington and the country's consulate in New York closed and that it may shut down the U.S. Embassy in Minsk.

Washington is one of the fiercest critics of authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko and is pressuring Belarus to release political prisoners or face punitive sanctions.

Relations have worsened in recent months, mainly because of U.S. sanctions imposed on a state-controlled oil-processing and chemicals company, Belneftekhim, as well as travel restrictions on Lukashenko and top government officials.

The sanctions are designed to punish Lukashenko, routinely described as "Europe's last dictator," and his government for its heavy-handed treatment of critics. E-mail to a friend

Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.