U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs David Kramer said on November 5 that Washington will soon impose new sanctions on Belarusian government officials, Radio Free Europe's/Radio Liberty's Belarus Service reported.Kramer said that in April he visited Minsk and met with Natalia Pyatkevich, deputy head of the presidential administration, and informed her of the conditions for the improvement of relations between Belarus and United States, which include the release of all persons whom Washington considers political prisoners. Kramer also handed Pyatkevich a list of such persons to avoid ambiguity.
Kramer admitted that the Belarusian authorities have not released political prisoners and, in fact, "the regime increased pressure on the opposition and activists of nongovernmental organizations." "We extended visa sanctions and within the next week you will hear about additional steps we will take," Kramer added, providing no further details.
