MINSK (Reuters) - Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko has signed a decree letting diplomats stay in their elite residences outside the capital Minsk, the International Monetary Fund`s resident representative said on Wednesday. "I have learned that President Lukashenko has just signed a decree allowing diplomats to stay in their residences," Richard Haas told reporters after a deadline passed for diplomats to move out so that the houses could be repaired. He did not say if the new decree was temporary or permanent. A Reuters correspondent reported from outside the Drozdy compound, near the capital Minsk, that a new sign had been placed near the entrance reading: "Residence of the President of the Republic of Belarus". A second sign said major repairs would start on June 10. Guards moved reporters away from the woodland complex and stopped camera crews filming. "There will be no sensation here. No one is going to cut off the gas or water," said Mikhail Tisovets, in charge of guarding state property. "Yes, this is the president`s residence but diplomats are allowed to live here for now." President Alexander Lukashenko, who has a house in the compound but shared the grounds with 22 diplomatic families, stepped into the row a week ago, setting a new deadline for Wednesday. He says he needs to call in the plumbers, but foreign powers say the order violates international norms.