Lukashenka is looking for someone to make friends with against Russia :: Charter'97 :: News

The date of Alyaksandr Lukashenka’s visit to Ukraine has not been finally approved, yet. Though Russian and Belarusian mass media several times mentioned 26 February, the date was not confirmed to the Nezavisimaya Gazeta correspondent neither at the Belarusian embassy in Ukraine, or at the Ukrainian Ministry for Foreign Affairs, nor at the president’s secretariat. Head of the Belarusian president’s administration called this day as preliminary. Official sources refuse to specify any details of the forthcoming visit till the end of the Belarusian- Ukrainian working groups’ functioning.

Such hesitations can be explained by the absence of a common viewpoint of the Ukrainian authorities on the issue of cooperation with Belarus in the sphere of energy, especially, as far as a possible Ukrainian-Lithuanian-Belarusian project of alternative oil deliveries, which has been recently declared by the Lithuanian president Valdas Adamkus, is concerned.

As is known, it is the issue of cooperation in the sphere of energy that is to become a key one within the frame of the Ukrainian and Belarusian leaders’ meetings. According to information of the head of the Ukrainian president’s press-service, it is planned that Viktar Yuschanka and Alyaksandr Lukashenka will sign the memorandum on cooperation in the sphere of energy, the consular convention and a number of other agreements. According to prime minister of Belarus Syargei Sidorsky, provisions of the memorandum on cooperation of the countries in the sphere of energy will touch upon the issues of the Ukraine –Central Asia cooperation, construction of power supply line between the Rovno electric power plant and Mikashevitchi and other perspective projects.

However, it is to be mentioned, that Viktar Yuschanka spoke in support of creation of joint projects between Lithuania and Belarus on diversification of Russian power sources but Prime Minister Viktar Yanukovich, as well as the “fuel” block of the government, keep silent on the issue.

It seems that they have seen the point in Minsk either. Local experts are extremely cautious when dwelling on the possible outcomes of the Belarusian- Ukrainian talks -success in the sphere of energy may be expected only on the issues of electric power and gas deliveries.

The political aspect can’t be neglected either. The domestic experts pay attention to the fact that Kiev has not rejected its European direction and pursues its policy looking back at the European Union. A. Lukashenka has not expressed any intentions to accept the European Union’s conditions, yet, particularly, on democratization of the country which is to begin with release of the political prisoners. The experts have also mentioned that Kiev is most unlikely to “make friends” against Russia.

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