MINSK, March 2 - RAPSI. The major condition for the United States to return its ambassador to Belarus is the release of political prisoners and opposition activists, Ian Kelly, the United States Representative to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) said during a video conference on March 2.

"For us, the main condition for normal diplomatic relations is the release of political prisoners and the cessation of repression against the media, lawyers, civil society," said Ian Kelly.

The United States conditions are simple: the crucial thing is the release of political prisoners, there are other factors as well but this one is a number one priority, he added.
Kelly maintained that many of opposition leaders in Belarus such as Andrei Sannikov (former presidential candidate), Ales Belyatsky (head of Vesna human rights protection center) are kept in prisons for political reasons although the Belarusian authorities deny it.

Belarus opposition leaders held an unauthorized rally on December 19, 2010, in Minsk following the presidential elections won by current president Alexander Lukashenko.

Rally later turned into a riot at the government house. The police arrested hundreds of rioters who tried to burst into the government house. Several presidential candidates were also detained by the police. Former presidential candidates Nikolai Statkevich and Andrei Sannikov still serve their prison sentences.

Ales Belyatsky was sentenced to four and a half years in prison for large-scale tax evasion in late November, 2011. The court also seized his property.