Lukashenka’s sudden visit to Moscow to meet Medvedev

On October 25, Alyaksandr Lukashenka is arriving in Moscow to meet with Russian president Dmitry Medvedev. Russian “Nezavisimaya Gazeta” reports it and adds that “information about a planning visit has just appeared and come as a surprise”.

In the mean time, a newspaper’s source, close to president, confirmed: “A meeting of the leaders of the union states is really expected.”

Experts are surprised with the fact that a meeting is to be held a week before a session of the State Council of the “union state”, scheduled for November 3. What problems have made the presidents set to talks ahead of the planned meeting in the frames of the State Council. The first version suggested by newspapers is that a progress in building of the “union state” is possible. Media informed earlier that a draft constitutional act, which is being amended in the Russian capital, as local observers note, would be considered the presidents at the session of the State Council. Logic allows to suppose that Dmitry Medvedev is calling Alyaksandr Lukashenka to Moscow to outline a position of the Russian side on the momentous for the union building document.

There are grounds for believing that an issue on single currency is a debating point of the constitutional act. Minister of finance of Russia Aleksei Kudrin has recently said to journalists that Moscow decided to grant a stabilisation loan to Belarus, and added that the union states “decided to extend a joint plan on crating single currency, renew cooperation in a number of sectors between Russia and Belarus and see economies of the countries in new light in view of the global financial crisis”. According to him, a plan on imposing single currency was adopted in the context of necessary economic stabilisation. Earlier, Minsk linked an issue on common currency with energy prices, as a factor of equalising economic condition in the countries. “Imposing of common currency will crown the integration, based on creating a single economic area,” the Belarusian authorities were constantly saying. It is not excluded that this topic may come up for a discussion of the presidents. Another equally important issue, having direct connection with the above mentioned one, is the requirements for giving a stabilisation credit of 2 billion dollars to Belarus.

It should be reminded that Russia took a decision on granting a credit of 2 billion dollars to Belarus. 1 billion is to be given this year, another 1 billion – next year. At the same time, neither Minsk nor Moscow explains how Belarus should pay for this favour. Minsk experts say the requirements for granting a loan are directly linked with the degree of currency integration of Belarus.

In 2009, gas is to be supplied to Belarus at the price, calculating on the enshrined in the contract formula. According to an agreement of December 2006, Russia gas price will grow step by step. If gas has cost 67 per cent of the market price in 2008, it must cost 80 per cent in 2009.

As Russian ambassador to Belarus Aleksandr Surikov said earlier, gas price for Belarus may reach USD 200–250 per 1,000 cubic meters.