“Kommersant”: Saakashvili invites Belarus to “anti-Russian bloc”

Lukashenka to supersede Ukrainian leader Viktor Yanukovych in the GUAM Organization, “Kommersant” writes.

Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili plans to restore anti-Russian bloc at the territory of the CIS in the framework of The GUAM Organization for Democracy and Economic Development, a union of Georgia, Ukraine, Azerbaijan and Moldova, which was formed in 1999 under the auspices of the USA. However, as noted by analysts, the makeup of the bloc could change a little, Belarus can take the place of Ukraine, “Kommersant” newspaper writes.

This information appeared after the friendly visit of the acting president of Moldova Mihai Ghimpu to Georgia. The meeting was held in a friendly atmosphere and had rather an emblematic manner, as no official documents were signed, and the leaders of the two countries had not even hold a joint press-conference.

Previously the head of Georgian foreign policy agency Grigol Vashadze spoke about resumption of the GUAM Organization’s activities. As said by him, GUAM members “had not stopped even for a minute their work for searching ways of society’s development” – economic, energy and transport ones.

He specified that heads of the Foreign Ministries of the four countries are to meet this autumn in the framework of the UN General Assembly session in New York, where the date of the GUAM summit and the agenda are to be discussed. Georgia hopes that the summit is to take place before the end of 2010.

It is not excluded that Alyaksandr Lukashenka recently known by his anti-Russian policy would join “the Four”. It is possible that Lukashenka would replace Ukrainian leader Viktor Yanukovych in the GUAM. Yanukovych does not have great interest to such initiatives, the newspaper writes.

At the same time, in recent times the Belarusian leader looks as the most fitting candidate for participation in the GUAM. The conflict which sparked since Lukashenka offered asylum to the ousted leader of Kyrgyzstan Kurmanbek Bakiyev, then extended to the economic sphere: Belarus’ entering the Customs Union was postponed all the time, and meanwhile a “gas war” started.

Though Minsk joined the Customs Union, and gas debts were paid, the conflict was not over. At that moment mass media joined the confrontation, and an informational war between Moscow and Minsk was launched. In response to attacks against Lukashenka, Belarusian TV broadcast an interview with Mikheil Saakashvili. The major part of it was dedicated to criticism of the Russian leadership.