Belarus freezes plan to give up uranium stockpile

MINSK, Belarus (AP) — Belarus has suspended an effort to fully give up its Soviet-era stockpile of highly enriched uranium with U.S. assistance in response to new American sanctions, the government said Friday.

Belarus will make sure the material is stored securely in line with its international commitments, the Foreign Ministry said.

The U.S. has conducted a longtime effort to secure nuclear materials in former Soviet nations to prevent them from falling into the wrong hands.

"We are disappointed with Belarus' announcement," U.S. State Department spokeswoman Heide Bronke Fulton said in Washington. "We hope that Belarus intends to meet its stated objective of the …