The US has removed sanctions against state-owned Belarussian energy company Belorusneft, Washington said today.
The sanctions were imposed in 2011 because of the company’s involvement in Iran.
They have been lifted amid a thaw between the west and Belarussian leader Alexander Lukashenko, once branded “Europe’s last dictator”.
Lukashenko has won himself some friends by hosting international talks aimed at resolving the conflict in Ukraine.
America’s Iran Sanctions Act requires sanctions be imposed on firms that make certain investments over £13.2million in Iran.
The US state department swooped on Belorusneft after it entered into a £331.4million contract with NaftIran Intertrade company in 2007 for the development of Iran’s Jofeir oilfield.
The sanctions barred Belorusneft from receiving aid from the US Export-Import Bank, from obtaining American government export licences, from getting private US bank loans of more than £6.6million in any 12-month period and from winning Washington contracts.
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