23 March, Minsk /BELTA/. The Belarusian side sees no need for the presence in Belarus of ambassadors recalled from states that voted for the introduction of additional sanctions against a number of Belarusian citizens and enterprises. This was stated today at a briefing by the Head of the Information Department - Press Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Belarus, Andrei Savinykh, commenting on the decision of the Council of the EU of 23 March 2012, BELTA reports. "We are forced to immediately begin implementing a set of response measures. Our European partners were informed in advance about such a possibility. In the current conditions, the Belarusian side sees no need for the presence in Belarus of ambassadors recalled from states that voted for this decision," said Andrei Savinykh. "The Belarusian side regrets the decision taken by the Council of the European Union to introduce additional sanctions against a number of Belarusian citizens and enterprises. This step further distances the prospects for normalizing relations and resuming dialogue on sensitive issues for the parties," he noted. Andrei Savinykh also noted that "European politicians are prisoners of conflict thinking, they remain hostages of the logic of coercion and blackmail." -0-

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