American embassy in Minsk informed on March 31, that the U.S. government has no relation to the recent visit of major American companies' representatives to Belarus. "It was a private visit of American business' representatives. The companies — whose representatives visited Belarus — had not appealed to the U.S. government for help in organizing the trip", noted in the embassy.
Representatives of American diplomatic mission also stressed that «the Belarusians and Americans have common interests, which could be the base for fruitful and mutually beneficial relations between our countries».
«There are many areas where such cooperation is possible. The United States appealed to Belarus with proposals to discuss these unused opportunities in our relations. Such a signal was given to the highest Belarusian leadership by U.S. Assistant Secretary, Philip Gordon, during his August visit to Minsk», reminded in the embassy.
«But, unfortunately, no significant progress in the sphere of democracy and human rights is observed. Exactly the concern of this situation forced the United States to impose financial sanctions and visa restrictions against Belarusian leadership in 2006, which were extended in 2007 and 2008. But we hope that Belarus will make concrete steps in this direction», declared in the American diplomatic mission in Minsk.
