BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

27/04/2009

Belarus President meets with Pope, may meet Berlusconi

According to RIA Novosti, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko met with Pope Benedict XVI on April 27, ahead of a possible meeting with Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi.

Pope Benedict XVI gave a 25-minute Vatican audience to the leader of the ex-Soviet republic.

During the one-to-one meeting with Pope Benedict XVI, Alexander Lukashenko extended an invitation to the pope to visit Belarus. "If you find the time, we will meet on the Belarusian land, God willing," Belarus's head of state said, as quoted by the Belarusian Telegraph Agency.

Prospects for expanding cooperation between Belarus and the Vatican were discussed during meetings of President Alexander Lukashenko with high Roman Catholic Church leaders, the Holy See press center reports in a statement.

Lukashenko, the pope and Vatican Secretary of State Tarcisio Bertone are reported to have discussed interconfessional and intercultural dialogue, international issues related to the promotion of peace and progress of humankind, some of Belarus's domestic issues and issues relating to the Catholic Church in Belarus.

An unidentified diplomat in Rome said on Sunday that Lukashenko would also attend a dinner hosted by Italian Prime Minister Berlusconi and Foreign Minister Franco Frattini later on Monday.

The influential Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera said earlier "the visit could be an important first step for one of Europe's last dictators to get out of his corner."

The current trip is Lukashenko's first official visit to Europe in 14 years.

Lukashenko was banned from travelling to the European Union because of his 2006 reelection, which Brussels claimed was rigged. The ban was suspended last year after Lukashenko freed several political prisoners in line with demands from the 27-nation bloc.

Lukashenko, who has led Belarus since 1994, has been criticized for clamping down on dissent and human rights.

Another sign of a thaw in relations between Belarus and the EU is Lukashenko's invitation to attend the EU's Eastern Partnership summit in Prague next month.

The program is intended to strengthen the EU's political and commercial ties with six former Soviet republics, asking for pro-democracy and free-market reforms in return.

Source:

http://www.mosnews.com/culture/2009/04/27/lukashenkomeetingpope/

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