BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

02/11/2008

Libya's Gadhafi Arrives In Belarus For Talks With President

MINSK, Belarus (AFP)--Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi arrived in Belarus Sunday for talks with President Alexander Lukashenko, the president's office said.

"Lukashenko met the esteemed guest at Minsk Airport," the president's press service said in a statement after Gadhafi flew from Moscow on his first visit to the region since the collapse of the Soviet Union.

On Monday the pair "will hold talks expected to lead to the signing of a number of bilateral agreements," the statement said.

Lukashenko, whose regime has been described by Washington as Europe's last dictatorship, maintained ties with the North African country when it was still regarded as an international outcast, visiting Gadhafi in 2000.

Later, in 2003, Libya began to shed its pariah status by renouncing weapons of mass destruction and taking responsibility for a 1988 airliner bombing over Lockerbie, Scotland that killed 270 people.

Meeting Lukashenko at the airport, Gadhafi said the development of the former Soviet Union is "extremely important for the maintenance of balance in the world," RIA Novosti news agency reported.

"We have the chance to find new directions for cooperation to push forward our relations," Lukashenko was quoted as saying.

The two countries plan to sign agreements on migration, crime, transport and culture, a spokeswoman for Lukashenko's office said.

In Moscow Gadhafi held talks with President Dmitry Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, in what he said was a bid to restore "geopolitical equilibrium" in the world.

During the visit Gadhafi's delegation signed a civil nuclear deal with Russia, Foreign Minister Abdelrahman Mohammed Shalgam told AFP.

Gadhafi was expected to complete his tour with a visit to Ukraine.

Source:

http://www.nasdaq.com/aspxcontent/NewsStory.aspx?cpath=20081102\ACQDJON200811021023DOWJONESDJONLINE000279.htm&&mypage=newsheadlines&title=Libya%27s%20Gadhafi%20Arrives%20In%20Belarus%20For%20Talks%20With%20President

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