BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

27/04/2009

Belarus, Moldova presidents set to skip EU partnership talks

(LUXEMBOURG) - Neither Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko not his Moldova counterpart Vladimir Voronin are likely to attend an EU summit with six former Soviet states next week, EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana said Monday.

"My impression is that the (Moldovan) president will not come... for Lukashenko it's more or less the same," Solana said after a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Luxembourg.

A European diplomat said that Prime Minister Zinaida Greceanii was likely to represent Moldova at the talks in Prague on May 7.

For Belarus it could be a last-minute decision, he added, noting that Belarus' Foreign Minister Sergei Martynov was due in Brussels early next week.

The uncertainty over the inaugural meeting of the EU's 'Eastern Partnership' initiative was heightened as Solana said it was unclear whether Ukraine's President Viktor Yushchenko or his rival Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko would turn up in Prague.

The EU wants to boost ties with Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Ukraine and Moldova to accelerate political and economic reforms in the region.

"What's important is the contents of the summit," said Solana.

"The summit takes place at a very important moment, with a tremendous economic crisis for many of the countries," he added.

There is also uncertainty over how many European leaders will turn up to the inaugural Eastern Partnership talks.

Asked how many EU heads of state and government will attend, Solana replied; "it will be a lot, more than we expected," however he admitted that "it's very difficult to have everybody everywhere... life is complicated."

Most EU leaders have not yet confirmed their presence at the summit, hosted by the Czech EU presidency just as the Czech government is folding following a parliamentary no-confidence vote.

The Czechs assumed the rotating EU presidency from France on January 1 and are due to stay at the helm till the end of June.

However the government of prime minister Mirek Topolanek will be replaced next month.

During the discussions in Luxembourg, the Czechs made it clear that EU foreign ministers could represent their countries at the Eastern Partnership talks, diplomats said.

Source:

http://www.eubusiness.com/news-eu/1240858021.73

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