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MINSK, Belarus — Eleven U.S. diplomats left Belarus on Saturday after being declared persona non grata amid escalating diplomatic tensions between Washington and the ex-Soviet nation, an embassy official said.
Belarus on Wednesday had ordered 10 of the embassy’s 11 diplomats to leave the country, giving them 72 hours to comply. All 11 left Saturday, a U.S. Embassy official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to speak to the media.
Washington is one of the fiercest critics of Belarus’ authoritarian president, Alexander Lukashenko, and is pressuring Belarus to release political prisoners or face sanctions.
