BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

Fri Apr 22, 2005 11:12 AM ET

Embattled Belarus Leader Visits Ally Russia

By Oleg Shchedrov

MOSCOW (Reuters) - The embattled president of Belarus got a break on Friday from Western calls for change in his ex-Soviet republic to discuss plans for a joint state with his only ally, Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Alexander Lukashenko flew to Moscow a day after European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana joined Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in criticising his tough rule and telling him it was time he went.

But Lukashenko's Kremlin talks focused on trade relations, plans for a currency union and harmonisation of the two countries' tax and customs systems, he and Putin said.

The storm of international criticism battering Lukashenko's regime was not mentioned directly in the portion of the talks reporters were given access to.

"I want to thank you ... for the huge support you are giving us at a difficult time for us in our history as a sovereign and independent nation," Lukashenko said to his Russian counterpart.

"You are welcome here," Putin told Lukashenko at the start their talks.

Reporters asked Lukashenko on his arrival in Moscow what he thought about Rice's description of his country as "the last true dictatorship in the center of Europe."

"I have no opinion about Rice or about her statements," Lukashenko said. "At least she now knows where Belarus is."

In comments on Thursday, Solana said of Belarus, which lies to the west of Russia and has borders with three new EU members: "There is no doubt the time has come for change."

Lukashenko, who has ruled the Slavic country of 5 million people since 1994, has rooted out the legal opposition and sent to jail some of its prominent figures.

Police in the Belarus capital Minsk said on Friday they had arrested Andrei Klimov, a minor opposition leader who organized a small protest rally last month. He has not yet been charged, they said.

A pariah for the West, Belarus is a key ally for Russia.

Although the efforts of both leaders in the late 1990s to form a common state have stumbled on disagreement over administrative and financial issues, the plan has not been formally dropped and the leaders regularly meet to discuss cooperation.

WAVE OF POLITICAL CHANGE

Lukashenko's importance for Moscow grew after a wave of political changes in ex-Soviet states left Belarus and Armenia Russia's only European allies.

Ukraine and Georgia have installed pro-Western governments in peaceful "velvet revolutions." Moldova, run by a Communist president, has proclaimed a similar change of orientation.

The United States and European Union have made clear Belarus could be next in line for change.

Earlier this month Putin and Lukashenko met on the Black Sea coast and Russian media said they discussed ways of resisting the spread of "velvet revolutions" to other ex-Soviet states. Analysts say the big question for Lukashenko is how far Putin will go to defend him if protests erupt in Belarus.

Putin, annoyed by what he sees as Western interference in Russia's zone of interests, discussed the situation in the former Soviet republics with Rice on Wednesday during her visit to Moscow.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told a NATO meeting in the Lithuanian capital, Vilnius, on Thursday that Russia was opposed to any foreign support for "velvet revolutions."

"I think the democratic process and the process of reform cannot be imposed from outside," he said.

However, Russia's reluctance to put at risk relations with the West by defending its clients in Ukraine during its "orange revolution" last year, could be an alarming sign for Lukashenko.

Andrei Cherkizov, a commentator for Ekho Moskvy radio, said Putin would make a decision driven by his own interests.

"A survival instinct will be the only factor which will decide Putin's behavior," he said.

(Additional reporting by Andrei Mahovsky in Minsk)

Source:

http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=worldNews&storyID=8267640