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U.S. Officials Ask Citibank to Release Frozen Belarusian Funds
WHY IT MATTERS
The release of the frozen funds could have significant implications for Belarus-U.S. relations and the ongoing human rights situation in Belarus, where hundreds of political prisoners remain in detention.
What happened
U. S. officials have requested Citibank to release $43-44 million in Belarusian funds frozen at the bank. The move comes after Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko called the freezing of the funds 'a disgrace for the United States.
' U. S. presidential envoy John Coale met with Lukashenko in Minsk on September 15, where the Belarusian leader claimed that Belarusian émigrés were 'blowing this issue out of proportion' in the West. Coale's previous visits to Minsk resulted in the release of dozens of political prisoners, but hundreds remain in Belarus.
Lukashenko stated that the claim of ongoing repression is 'completely untrue. ' The U. S. officials' request to release the funds marks a potential shift in the situation, but the outcome remains uncertain.
PRIMARY SOURCES
Alexander Lukashenko called the freezing of $43-44 million in Belarusian funds at Citibank ‘a disgrace for the United States.’ Now U.S. officials have asked the bank to release the money.
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