11 US diplomats leave Belarus

The United States says eleven of its diplomats have left Belarus, following a request by the Belorussian Foreign Ministry.

Belarus sent a formal request to the US embassy in Minsk on Wednesday, asking ten US diplomats to leave the country within 72 hours. It was the second reduction in US embassy staff sought by Belarus this year.

Relations between the two countries have been tense since Washington imposed new sanctions against Belarus' state-owned oil firm Bel-nef-tekhim last November.

On Belarus' advice, the US embassy in Minsk cut staff in March, after Belarus recalled its ambassador and shrank its diplomatic mission in Washington.