Belarus might recognize independence of Abkhazia and South Ossetia after New Year

Read it in Russian

President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko has announced during a working visit to the town of Bereza, Brest Region, that the Belarusian parliament intended to consider an issue of recognition of independence of Abkhazia and South Ossetia after the New Year. Lukashenko stressed that he would sign a decree on it, if the people and the parliament want it. According to him, the issue of recognition of the republics' independence was part of his negotiations with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev.

It is worth noting, that the president of Belarus stated that the gas problem was settled positively for Minsk at the talks. According to him, the price of gas purchased by the Belarusian side from Russia from January 1 to December 31, 2009 would go down by 2.5-3 times.  “And we will get as good as it gets,” Alexander Lukashenko noted. According to him, there were no hindrances from the side of Minsk concerning military-political, diplomatic and social and economic challenges which Russia put before Belarus.  “We accept all offers and we are ready to keep negotiating on them,” the Belarusian president added.