Belarus requests U.S. diplomats to leave

MOSCOW, April 30 (Xinhua) -- Belarus Wednesday declared a number of U.S. diplomats unwelcome and requested them to leave the former Soviet republic, Russian news agencies reported.

The Belarussian Foreign Ministry summoned U.S. charge d'affaires Jonathan Moore Wednesday and asked the United States to cut its staff to five plus the ambassador, the reports said.

Moore was also given a list of U.S. diplomats who have been declared personae non gratae and will have to leave the country.

U.S.-Belarussian relations have been tense since Washington imposed new sanctions against Belaruss' oil firm Belneftekhim last November.

WASHINGTON, April 30 (Xinhua) -- The United States said Wednesday the demand by Belarus to ask 10 diplomats of the U.S. embassy in Minsk to leave in 72 hours is "unjustified and unwarranted."

"We told the Belarusians in private, and we will say in public, that we believe that this action is unjustified and unwarranted," State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said.