Translated material
Elections are not scary
Lukashenko plans to visit Yushchenko
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko intends to soon visit Kyiv for negotiations with his Ukrainian counterpart Viktor Yushchenko. The corresponding invitation was brought to Minsk yesterday by Ukrainian Foreign Minister Petro Poroshenko. The guest suggested that a meeting between the two leaders could take place in early November.Ukraine will hold presidential elections in mid-January next year, and opinion polls show Mr Yushchenko's chances of winning are close to zero. Nevertheless, Alexander Lukashenko expressed confidence that the vote will not affect the prospects for bilateral cooperation, since “elections and other campaigns come and go, but we still have to work.”
Addressing Mr. Poroshenko, the Belarusian president said: “We do not cooperate to the detriment of anyone. You notice that some people are starting to worry about this. I think it’s in vain... There are issues on which the interests of our states absolutely coincide.” Alexander Lukashenko noted that he has long known President Viktor Yushchenko as a sincere and honest person: “I absolutely trust this person with whom we have developed good relations.”
Lukashenko first announced an upcoming meeting with Yushchenko at the October CIS summit in Chisinau. He explained that Belarus and Ukraine are experiencing similar problems due to a reduction in the supply of their goods to the Russian market. Petro Poroshenko said yesterday that the package of proposals for Belarus “will be very interesting” and Mr. Lukashenko’s visit to Ukraine “will be filled with specific content on issues of economic, political cooperation, coordination of activities in the European direction.”
Previously, Minsk announced the possibility of implementing transit projects together with Ukraine and the Baltic countries that could reduce their dependence on Russia. During the visit of the head of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry to Minsk, the parties discussed the prospects for cooperation within the framework of the European Eastern Partnership program. Lukashenko previously thanked Ukraine for its assistance in developing dialogue between Minsk and Brussels.