Minsk - Belarus was locked in a Cold War-style collision course with the west yesterday over plans to expel 20 ambassadors from their official residences. The evictions are ostensibly to allow renovation work in the Drosdy area on the outskirts of Minsk, but angry western diplomats have described them as a return to Cold War practices and insist they will stay put.
The embassies were warned of the eviction in April, on the grounds that pipework in the exclusive residential zone had not been renewed for 50 years. The envoys originally had been ordered to leave by yesterday but have now been given an extra week to get out.
