Democrat lawmakers ask Mastercard to suspend Belarus operations

A group of seven Democratic members of the U.S. House of Representatives has called on Mastercard to suspend its business operations in Belarus because of the company”™s support of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

The New York Post reported that the representatives complained that Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko allowed his country to be used as a staging ground for the invasion and is providing hospital treatment to Russian forces injured in Ukraine.

“Belarus is as much at fault as Russia in this war,” the representatives said in a letter sent to the leadership of both Purchase-headquartered Mastercard and its corporate rival Visa.

The lawmakers praised Mastercard and Visa for suspending their Russian-based operations, but called on the companies to follow the lead of American Express by extending their suspension to Belarus.

“The private sector can also play a significant role in addressing bad actors”™ role in this unjustified war,” the lawmakers added.