The announced highlights of Vladimir Putin's visit to Belarus are supplies of Russia’s gas there and granting a loan from the RF budget.
Photo: Alexander Miridonov
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Putin to See The Brest Fortress
Russia’s PM Vladimir Putin visits Belarus today. One of the issues on the agenda could be extension of Union State of Russia and Belarus by admitting South Ossetia and Abkhazia into it. But both in Moscow and in Minsk, they had apparently lost great interest in the main economic incentives of the unification – the stabilization credit of $2 billion to be granted to Belarus. As a result, the main news about the visit will be probably the report on the progress in shooting a feature film, The Brest Fortress.
The official agenda of October 6 visit of Vladimir Putin sets forth negotiations with Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko and Prime Minister Sergei Sidorsky as well as the meeting of Council of Ministers of the Union State. The announced highlights are supplies of Russia’s gas to Belarus and granting a loan to it from the RF budget. According to initial plans, the amount of the so-called stabilization loan was to reach $2 billion, which Belarus was willing to raise at LIBOR+0.75 percent for 15 years with the grace period of five years.
On Friday, however, representatives of the RF Finance Ministry said it was no longer the question of $2 billion and the amount could be less. Anyway, the loan will remain on the agenda – Russia’s Vice Premier, Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin heads for Minsk today.
As to the informal portion of the visit, its order of business will probably relate to South Ossetia and Abkhazia, which independence Belarus hasn’t recognized yet. In the middle of September, the Secretary of State of the Union State Pavel Borodin suggested discussing South Ossetia’s and Abkhazia’s entrance into the Union State of Russia and Belarus. According to the sources, the issue was preliminary raised when Russia’s President Dmitry Medvedev met with Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko in August in Sochi.
Then, Belarus shelved the issue till the parliamentary election of September 28. The country’s new parliament will sit for the first time no sooner than October 27. Deliberating on the Union State’s extension would appear strange until Minsk at least promises to recognize South Ossetia and Abkhazia.
www.kommersant.com
All the Article in Russian as of Oct. 06, 2008
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