BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

15/12/2007

Putin, Belarus leader close ranks against U.S. anti-missile shield

MINSK - Russia's President Vladimir Putin and his authoritarian ally Belarussian President Alexander Lukashenko closed ranks in Minsk on Friday against U.S. plans for an anti-missile shield in central Europe.

Lukashenko, who is a political pariah in the European Union and the United States, told Putin at a summit that his ex-Soviet republic backed Moscow's opposition to the shield - and also supported Putin's decision to walk away from a Cold War arms treaty this week.

Meanwhile, Putin reassured Lukashenko that Russia would not raise prices for natural gas, also promising there would be no obstacles to delivery of Russian supplies this winter through Belarus to the European Union.

"Belarus is ready to play its role on the question of the proposed deployment in Europe of elements of the anti-missile defence system," Lukashenko told Putin at the end of the state visit.

Lukashenko, who treated Putin to a military honour guard, likewise promised to "closely coordinate" with Russia on the Conventional Forces in Europe (CFE) treaty. Moscow froze adherence with the treaty, which limits deployment of troops, on Wednesday.

"I am sure that the level of our cooperation will allow us to resolve efficiently these problems," Lukashenko said.

Putin's trip threw a diplomatic and economic lifeline to Lukashenko, whose close allies include Venezuela President Hugo Chavez, and who just this week came under strong criticism from Washington over the beating of protestors in Minsk.

For the Kremlin leader, his talks with Lukashenko were an opportunity to shore up links with a country that Moscow sees as a key ally against the NATO military alliance.

The row over the U.S. missile shield - which Washington insists would not threaten Russia - and Moscow's freezing of compliance with the CFE have chilled East-West relations, while boosting the strategic importance of Belarus, which lies between Russia and NATO member Poland.

Putin promised Lukashenko that state gas monopoly Gazprom "will supply gas to Belarus at current prices." The two countries also signed a deal for Russia to provide a 15-year credit of $1.5 billion.

However, Putin also stressed that Moscow's close relations with Minsk meant there would be no repeat of last year's dispute on gas prices that resulted in disruption of Russian gas supplies to the European Union.

"We confirm that we will fulfill all our obligations on transit of hydrocarbons to Europe," Putin said.

There had been speculation in the Russian media ahead of Putin's trip that he and Lukashenko would move forward a long-delayed plan on merging Belarus with its giant neighbor, a plan some analysts believe could allow Putin to retain power after leaving his Kremlin job next year.

Lukashenko denied this, saying: "I was surprised your visit prompted a stir in the West. There's no subtext here. We're friendly allied states and I would be surprised if you didn't visit."

But Putin's visit was overshadowed by a violent police dispersal of a demonstration in Minsk on Wednesday against the Belarus-Russia union and against Putin.

A number of pro-European opposition activists were hospitalised, prompting a strong protest from the U.S. government.

One of the leaders of the opposition Belarussian Popular Front, Vintsuk Vyachorka, said that Russia and its giant Gazprom corporation, which supplies all of Belarus' natural gas, were taking over.

"Now is a very favorable moment for the Kremlin to gain economic control over Belarus.... The union state will come about thanks to the Gazprom-KGB view of Russia as an energy empire," he said.

(AFP)

Source:

http://www.japantoday.com/jp/news/422966

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