After the United States placed a series of fresh sanctions on President Alexander Lukashenko's administration, Belarus has ordered the US to reduce the number of its embassy workers.

Minsk had told the US that it wants embassy staff reduced to five individuals by September first, foreign ministry official Anatoly Glaz, stated on the ministry's website, describing this as "our reply to their unfriendly and even aggressive actions."

US President Joe Biden issued a new executive order on Monday, imposing penalties on individuals and entities in Belarus "for their role in attacks on democracy and human rights, transnational repression, and corruption," as he characterized it.

Biden stressed that “the United States will continue to stand up for human rights and free expression while holding the Lukashenka regime accountable."

In a new sign of the rapprochement between the two countries, Russian and Belarusian intelligence services announced two months ago that they would strengthen cooperation in the face of "hostile policies of the United States and Western countries," in a new indication of the two countries' belief that Western countries were attempting to "destabilize, politically, socially, and economically."

 Last May, the White House declared its intention to apply sanctions on nine Belarusian state companies that had previously been given a reprieve by the US Treasury Department.

The United States also announced the suspension of the 2019 US-Belarus Air Services Agreement, explaining that "We take these measures, together with our partners and Allies, to hold the regime accountable for its actions and to demonstrate our commitment to the aspirations of the people of Belarus."