MINSK, March 7: Belarus, accused in the West of violating fundamental rights, recalled its ambassador to the United States on Friday and urged the US envoy to leave the ex-Soviet state.

Washington, where officials have described Belarus as “Europe’s last dictatorship”, said the measure was unjustified and served to further isolate the country.

A Belarussian foreign ministry spokesman said Minsk had been taking measures to improve ties with the West, but the latest moves were prompted by US sanctions imposed on Belarus’s national oil products firm, Belneftekhim.

“One of these steps is the recall of Belarus’s ambassador in Washington for consultations,” spokesman Andrei Popov said. “At the same time and for the same purpose, Belarus urges the US ambassador to leave our country.”

In Washington, White House National Security Council spokesman Gordon Johndroe expressed regret at “this unjustified action by the Belarussian government”.

“This is deeply disappointing and only takes them further away from Europe and the rest of the world,” he said.

The US embassy in Minsk said ambassador Karen Stewart was in the country, but offered no further comment.

President Alexander Lukashenko has sought improved relations with the West, particularly the European Union, after quarrelling with Russia last year over energy prices.

But he threatened to expel Mr Stewart late last year if new sanctions were imposed against his country of 10 million people, wedged between Russia and three EU states.

PRESIDENT BARRED FROM EU, US: Both the United States and EU have taken punitive measures against Belarus, including an entry bar on Lukashenko on the grounds that he rigged his 2006 re-election.

Washington last year imposed sanctions against Belneftekhim, prohibiting Americans from doing business with the refiner and freezing any assets it has under US jurisdiction.

A source close to Belarus’s government said the new action followed a US note on those sanctions which “allowed for a broad interpretation” of a list of firms linked to Belneftekhim.

The Belarussian side viewed that as additional sanctions.

As part of moves to improve relations, particularly with the EU, courts have in recent months freed several opposition activists considered by the West to be political prisoners. But the country’s most prominent detainee, Alexander Kozulin, is still serving a 5-1/2 year term for helping organise protests against the president’s re-election two years ago.—Reuters