Lukashenka has ignored Foreign Minister of Ukraine

On March 25 Kostyantyn Gryshchenko, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, has made a blitz-visit to Minsk.

As ZN.UA learnt from a source in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Kostyantyn Gryshchenko had two main aims. Firstly, to pass to Alyaksandr Lukashenka Kyiv’s proposals on normalization of relations between Belarus and countries of the European Union. We remind that earlier Ukraine stated its intentions to become an intermediary between Belarus and Europe, which relations deteriorated after the dispersal by the Belarusian authorities of the oppositional meeting on December 19, 2010 and criminal prosecution of oppositionists and presidential candidates in Belarus.

Secondly, Kostyantyn Gryshchenko was to pass Lukashenka an invitation to visit Ukraine on only April 26 and together with presidents of Ukraine and Russia to visit Chernobyl to pay tribute to the memory of victims of Chernobyl catastrophe. This offer could allow avoiding the situation of Lukashenka’s coming to Ukraine on April 19 for participation in a nuclear security summit.

As it was informed earlier, Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych had sent invitations to leaders of a number of states, including Lukashenka, to participate in the nuclear security summit. However, after that reports were received that the President of the European Commission Jose Barroso was disinclined to take part in the conference if Alyaksandr Lukashenka is going to attend it.

In Minsk K. Gryshchenko held negotiations with his Belarusian counterpart Syarhei Martynau. A. Lukashenka has ignored the visit of K. Gryshchenko, though he was in Minsk at that time.