U.S. weighing options on Belarus diplomats

WASHINGTON, May 1 (UPI) -- U.S. State Department officials have not asked the Belarus missions in Washington and New York to close, a State Department spokesman said Thursday.

"We have told them that we have very serious concerns about this step that they have taken, and that means we need to think very carefully about our future and their future diplomatic presence in our respective countries," spokesman Sean McCormack. He responded to reports that the Belarusian Embassy in Washington and consulate in New York were asked to close. "But we have not made any decisions at this point."

The Belarusian Foreign Ministry Wednesday told U.S. diplomats they were declared persona non grata and asked to leave Minsk within 72 hours.

"(We're) going to comply with that deadline given to us," McCormack said. "We -- while we will comply with the requirement for our diplomats to depart, we strongly object to this measure. There is no justification for it."

The expulsion came after the United States imposed sanctions because of the authoritarian rule of President Alexander Lukashenko.

He said the embassy in Minsk has six people -- four diplomats and two Marines, the same number as in both Belarus' missions in the United States.