Visa-free Agreement Between Belarus and Lithuania is Imminent

People living near the Belarusian-Lithuanian border will soon be able to get special permits to cross the border without a visa, Prime Minister Andrius Kubilius said on Wednesday.

Residents around the border area between the two countries have been dismayed by restrictions placed on them since Lithuania joined the Schengen zone in 2007. Earlier, long-term visas between Lithuania and Belarus were negotiated so people could visit relatives and do business. Now they find it hard to cross the border because of stricter regulations.full text

Russian Oligarch Wants to Buy Belaruskali

Russian potash fertilizer producer Uralkali is negotiating the acquisition of majority interests in Belarusian sector company Belaruskali, in a drive to create the top global potash fertilizer company, Russian newspaper Vedomosti reported.

Suleiman Kerimov, holding 25% in Uralkali, has offered Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko to buy 51% in state-owned Belaruskali for USD7.5bn (EUR5.8bn), a source close to a Uralkali shareholder told the paper.full text

Newspaper “Nasha Niva” Received Two Warnings From Information Ministry

An independent newspaper Nasha Niva has received two official warnings from the Ministry of Information for the articles about the scandalous documentary “Godbatka”, aired by Russian NTV channel.

The first warning was issued on July 22 over Nasha Niva’s article that accused the authorities of confiscating the Belarusian-language paper’s issue that featured a story about “Godbatka”, a documentary that was not showed in Belarus, BelaPAN reported.full text

No Candidate Would Agree to Be the Kremlin's Protégé, Lebedko Says

No Belarusian candidate would agree to be a protégé of Russia. The statement was made by the chairman of the United Civil Party, Anatoly Lebedko. However, according to the UCP leader, first time in 16 years we can expect that the President of Belarus will not receive a public open support from the Kremlin.

"It will be a new quality in the process of presidential elections", Anatoly Lebedko stated. Moreover, we can expect that the Kremlin will remove the taboo for business to support those or other political projects in Belarus, what was real till the present, the opposition politician said, Trud informs. full text

Improvement of Belarusian-American Relations Depends on Changes and Reforms, Romanchuk Says

We asked the potential participant of the forthcoming presidential campaign, Jaroslav Romanchuk to comment on Alexander Lukashenko’s desire to improve relations between Belarus and the United States.

“If Jaroslav Romanchuk to be elected the President of Belarus, all problems between Belarus and the United States will be resolved in a few weeks. Alexander Lukashenko has the unique ability to strain relations and provoke conflicts. He does not trust the professionals and tries to do everything himself. Official Minsk has the only way - to make substantial changes and reforms, primarily in domestic politics. full text

Lithuania Could Help Belarus Seek Alternative Gas Routes

Lithuania, which will build a liquefied natural gas terminal to ease dependence on Russian gas, may also help neighbour Belarus seek alternative natural gas routes, Lithuania’s premier said Tuesday. Prime Minister Andrius Kubilius met with Belarus Prime Minister Sergei Sidorski for talks late Tuesday on developing separate LNG infrastructures on Lithuania’s Baltic Sea coast to serve the two ex-Soviet states.

"Belarus is showing its interest. I said we see the possibility of developing two parallel projects that could be joined in the future," Kubilius told AFP on telephone from Nesvizh, Belarus, adding that a preliminary expert analysis would be known this fall.full text

UCP to Address International Organizations With a Petition to Grant "Prisoner of Conscience" Status to Andrei Bondarenko

The United Civil Party (UCP) will seek granting "prisoner of conscience" status to Andrei Bondarenko.

"We met with the leaders of the Belarusian human rights organizations, and we do not have doubt that Andrei Bondarenko is a prisoner of conscience. His criminal case is politically motivated and was fabricated, an innocent person serves time in jail”- chairman of the United Civil Party Anatoly Lebedko said.full text

Court Officers Ordered to Seize Anatoly Lebedko’s Property

Leader of the United Civil Party Anatoly Lebedko has received notification that Court officers were ordered to seize his property. It should be reminded that Octiabrskiy District Court of Minsk fined Anatoly Lebedko with Br 875. 000 ($300) for taking part in an action in honor of former Interior minister Yuri Zakharenko, who was abducted 11 years ago.

Anatoly Lebedko believes the verdict is "unlawful and politically motivated".

"The authorities are trying to impose a ban on the theme of kidnapped and killed opposition leaders. This is an absurd. full text

Police Disperses Opposition Rally in Minsk

On July 27, police dispersed an opposition rally in Minsk, in honor of the 20th anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration of State Sovereignty of Belarus.

Leader of a movement Razam (Together) Vyacheslav Sivchik and young opposition activists Nikolay Demidenko, Andrei Kim and Katerina Davydik were detained and spent the night in the detention center on Okrestina Street. They are accused under article 17.1 of the Administrative Code - disorderly conduct. The trials will be held today.full text

Will New Lord Help Lukashenko?

The head of British PR-holding "Huntsworth" the Lord Peter Selwyn Gummer Chadlington has become the new image-maker of the Belarusian ruler Alexander Lukashenko.

A new image-maker has already spoken on the Belarusian television and confidently stated that he would help the Belarusian government that had asked him to assist in fostering privatization and he knew how to achieve results.full text

Putin and Lukashenko Hate Each Other, Nemtsov Says

Former Russian deputy prime minister and one of the leaders of the Russian opposition Solidarity movement Boris Nemtsov is confident that the conflict between Russia and Belarus is not in economic, but in political sphere.

“It is a personal conflict between the President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko and Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin. It is clear that they hate each other”- Boris Nemtsov said in an interview to Ukrainian newspaper "Delo".full text

Anatoly Lebedko Initiates Re-signing of the Declaration of State Sovereignty

Deputy of the Supreme Council of 12th convocation and chairman of the United Civil Party Anatoly Lebedko initiates the re-signing of the Declaration of State Sovereignty of the Republic of Belarus.

«There are no longer alive many of my colleagues, who signed this historic document, those who voted for the adoption of the Declaration. I believe it is important to have the text of the Declaration with the signatures of its fathers”- Anatoly Lebedko said.

It should be reminded that 20 years ago the Supreme Council of Belarus adopted a Declaration of State Sovereignty of the Republic of Belarus.full text

Today Belarus Celebrates Independence Day

20 years ago the Supreme Council of Belarus adopted a Declaration of State Sovereignty of the Republic of Belarus. The document declared Belarus as an independent state with “the independent and full power of its statehood within the borders of its territory and independence of the republic’s foreign policy”.

This date – July 27th – was commemorated as the Independence Day since 1991 and was of big importance for Belarus, a new country which declared its independence after 70 years of the Soviet Union and its destructive activities towards the Belarusian nation. That was a building stone for a new country.full text

Belarus, Syria and Venezuela to Work on a Series of Joint Projects

Belarus, Syria and Venezuela are ready to improve cooperation in the tripartite format.

“During my visit to Venezuela, President Hugo Chavez suggested me to improve tripartite cooperation,” Lukashenko told reporters in Minsk following talks with Syrian President Bashar Assad.

Lukashenko said the foreign ministers were informed to meet and prepare the tripartite meeting. “The presidents of three countries will gather in Damascus in order to coordinate trends of cooperation.” According to Lukashenko, such agreements exist in Belarus, Syria and Qatar, ITAR TASS informs. full text

Freedom Cup in Honor of Gennady Karpenko Postponed to August

The traditional football tournament "Freedom Cup" in honor of Gennady Karpenko has been put off for two weeks and will take place on August 7. The tournament is traditionally organized on Independence Day on July 27.

“Organizational problems and the heat became the reason of such decision”- chairman of the Executive Committee of the United Civil Party Igor Shinkarik said.full text

Presidential Elections in Belarus

Yesterday it became known that President Alexander Lukashenko signed a decree for an extraordinary session of parliament on September 7th. Experts in Minsk do not exclude that the date of presidential elections will be assigned in this session, which can pass ahead of schedule.

Meanwhile, the main discussions in the Belarusian political arena are about who Moscow would support during the upcoming election campaign. On the other hand, according to deputies, the extraordinary session should be devoted to consideration of the laws of the country’s budget, the budget of State Social Protection Fund, on making amendments and additions to tax and budget codes.full text

Putin Denies Information War Between Russia, Belarus

Russian premier-minister Vladimir Putin denies information war between Russia and Belarus, Putin told Russian journalists after talks with Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych.

“I read few periodicals and I don’t read much of the electronic press on a daily basis. But I don’t see any signs of war or any kind of military hostilities. So it’s not accidental that I am wondering about casualties,” Putin added. full text

Kremlin Needs Plan B To Oust Lukashenko

It is hard to discern the strategy behind the Kremlin’s decision to initiate a character assassination campaign against Belarussian President Alexander Lukashenko.

While Moscow’s wrath over Lukashenko’s efforts to resist Kremlin pressure to join Russia and Kazakhstan in the customs union is understandable, a strategy that seeks to humiliate Lukashenko and weaken his regime is a road to nowhere.full text

Syria's Assad Arrives in Belarus

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad arrived in Belarus on a two-day official visit. He will hold talks with his Belarusian counterpart Alexander Lukashenko on Monday.

Assad is to be accompanied by a large business delegation, which includes representatives of 117 companies. Members of the delegation are to take part in the second meeting of the Belarusian-Syrian Business Cooperation Council and in a business matchmaking session, said the report.full text

UCP Leaders Meet European Journalists

Today a group of journalists from the European Union’s countries met with the leaders of the Belarusian opposition.

The group includes 13 journalists from Austria, Britain, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Poland, Portugal and Romania. The meeting was attended by the leaders of the United Civil Party Anatoly Lebedko and Jaroslav Romanchuk, chairman of the party "Just Peace" Sergei Kalyakin, co-chairman of the BCD party Vital Rymashevsky and chairman of the BPF Party Alexei Yanukevich. full text

Jaroslav Romanchuk Visited Borisov

On July, 22 candidate for presidency from the United Civil party Jaroslav Romanchuk visited Borisov.

"Jaroslav Romanchuk is the only candidate for president who systematically and purposefully promotes his program "Millions of new jobs for Belarus", which is the base of Jaroslav Romanchuk’s pre-election platform, to the citizens of Belarus" - deputy chairman of the United Civil Party Lev Margolin said. full text

Lukashenko and Saakashvili Get Together For a Few Potshots at Russia

Alexander Lukashenko, the hardline president of Belarus, and Mikhail Saakashvili, the leader of Georgia, have forged an unlikely political alliance in a "media war" with the Kremlin.

Lukashenko, a former collective farm manager and often called Europe’s last dictator, and Saakashvili, a graduate of Columbia Law School and self-styled champion of democracy, may seem like dubious bedfellows. But experts say their interests have merged in an escalating conflict between Russia and its former Soviet neighbours as the latter try to foster closer ties with the European Union.full text

It Takes One to Know One

Russia and Belarus are unlikely champions of democracy and freedom of speech. But a postmodernist approach to politics can yield odd results in the post-Soviet world.

In recent weeks these authoritarian regimes have denounced each other’s authoritarianism and deployed state-controlled media to attack each other’s lack of media freedom. Bizarrely, this war of words has been waged in the name of brotherly ties and economic union.full text

Russia Today: Russia May Support Lukashenko’s Opponent in Belarusian Elections

Analysts predict a new stage of a media war between Moscow and Minsk after three Belarusian opposition politicians met with the Russian finance minister and deputies of the parliament.

Moscow has probably started to choose the successor to Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko, media say. One of the main results of the informal meetings between Russian and Belarusian politicians is the intention to hold in Moscow a forum of Lukashenko’s opponents in August, Gazeta.ru said.full text

Russia Aims to Topple the 'Last Dictator in Europe'

Alexander Lukashenko, the moustachioed former collective farm manager often described as "the last dictator in Europe", could be about to see his iron grip on power in Belarus turned to jelly by an intervention from his domineering neighbour and erstwhile ally, Russia.

Until recently Mr. Lukashenko was expected to win presidential elections that are due in the neo-Soviet state next February at a canter. But in the last few weeks the Belarusian President has engaged in what might be an unwinnable media war with Moscow. Questions are now being asked about whether eastern Europe’s great political survivor might be on his last legs.full text