BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

22/06/2008

Russia's President Medvedev Arrives For Talks With Belarus Leader

BREST, Belarus (AFP)--Russian President Dmitry Medvedev arrived Sunday in western Belarus for talks with the country's authoritarian leader Alexander Lukashenko, expected to focus on energy cooperation.

Relations between Moscow and Minsk deteriorated in late 2006 after Russia suddenly sought to raise gas prices, when up to then Belarus had benefitted from special prices.

For this year and the next two years, the price of Russian gas has been set, starting at 67% and rising to 90% of the market price for gas delivered to western Europe.

According to the Russian media, Belarus would like to convince Moscow to slow down the rate of price increases.

The two leaders are meeting in the city of Brest which was on the front line of the invasion by the German Nazi army of the Soviet Union on June 22, 1941.

They will attend a ceremony marking the 67th anniversary of the Nazi invasion.

Lukashenko has in the past been criticized by the West as "the last dictator of Europe" for his authoritarian regime and poor human rights record.

Source:

http://www.istockanalyst.com/article/viewiStockNews+articleid_2304175~zoneid_Home~title_Russia's-President.html

Google