English

Lukashenka may hold bilateral meetings on sidelines of CSTO summit in Russia next week

 

Alyaksandr Lukashenka may hold bilateral meetings on the sidelines of a summit of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) in Sochi, Russia, on September 23, the Belarusian leader's press office told BelaPAN.

The press office did not say whether Mr. Lukashenka may hold a face-to-face meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Sochi.

On September 18, Mr. Putin's spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, said that the Kremlin expected the Russian president to have a meeting with his Belarusian counterpart on the sidelines of the summit.

However, two days later, Mr. Putin's aide Yury Ushakov said that there were no plans for such a meeting.

Mr. Ushakov made clear on the same day that the Kremlin was concerned about the delay in the handover of Vladislav Baumgertner, director general of Russian potash producer Uralkali, to Russia. "This process has been protracted a bit," the Interfax news agency quoted him as saying. "Yesterday's remarks by the Belarusian leader make it possible to hope that this matter will be resolved in the near future."

Mr. Lukashenka said on Thursday that the Russian executive may be extradited to Russia "for investigation."

Political analyst Valery Karbalevich linked the uncertainty surrounding the possibility of a meeting between Messrs. Lukashenka and Putin to Mr. Baumgertner's arrest.

The Kremlin wants Mr. Baumgertner to be released before such a meeting could take place, while Minsk wants the executive to remain in jail, he said.

If Mr. Baumgertner is not released but a meeting between the Belarusian and Russian leaders still takes place, it will mean Minsk's psychological victory over Moscow, Mr. Karbalevich concluded. //BelaPAN