Lukashenko accuses Russia of blackmailing Belarus to recognize Georgian regions

September 30th, 2009 Russia, Belarus hold joint military exercisesMINSK, Belarus — Russia and Belarus on Tuesday completed two days of massive joint military exercises on bases that are close to borders with NATO members. Officials said about 12,500 servicemen took part in the West-2009 exercises, roughly half from each country, in Russia's westernmost Kaliningrad region, which borders NATO members Poland and Lithuania, and in southern Belarus about 75 miles (125 kilometers) from the Polish border.

September 16th, 2009 MINSK - India and Belarus will sign two bilateral agreements during External Affairs Minister S. M. Krishna's two-day visit to that country.

September 15th, 2009 Russia to detain Georgian ships off AbkhaziaMOSCOW — Russia heightened tensions with Georgia Tuesday by warning that it will detain Georgian ships entering the territorial waters of Abkhazia, a breakaway province allied with Moscow, news agencies reported. Russia recognized Abkhazia and South Ossetia as independent nations after a brief war with Georgia last year and has posted thousands of troops in both regions.

August 20th, 2009 President says Belarus ready to work with WestMINSK, Belarus — Belarus' authoritarian president said Thursday he was willing to work with the European Union and the United States, but warned they should not expect him to leave office or to abandon ties with Moscow. The comments by President Alexander Lukashenko struck notes of both cooperation and defiance.

August 12th, 2009 Putin pedges massive military spending in AbkhaziaMOSCOW — Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin says the country will spend at least 15 billion rubles ($470 million) next year to build Russian military bases in Abkhazia and tighten the separatist Georgian region's borders. Putin's pledge in an interview with Abkhazian media comes on Wednesday's anniversary of the cease-fire in last year's war with Georgia in which Abkhazia and South Ossetia broke from Georgian control.

August 10th, 2009 Lenin statue collapses, kills man in BelarusMINSK, Belarus —A massive statue of Soviet founder Vladimir Lenin collapsed on a man who was hanging from it Monday, killing him on the spot, authorities said. The 21-year-old man was drunk when he climbed onto the five-meter (16-foot)-high plaster monument and hung from its arm, the Emergency Situations ministry said.

August 8th, 2009 Russia leader: Sarkozy deal keeps peace in GeorgiaVLADIKAVKAZ, Russia —Russian President Dmitry Medvedev awarded medals Saturday to servicemen who fought in the war against Georgia a year ago, and promised Russia would not reverse its recognition of two breakaway Georgian provinces. The August 2008 conflict ended with the breakaway Georgian regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia declaring independence, with Russia's backing.

July 15th, 2009 Russia sets up $7.5B fund to help neighborsMOSCOW — Russia set up Wednesday a $7.5 billion crisis fund to help former Soviet nations weather the global economic crisis — and, analysts say, to increase Moscow's clout in the region. The fund was created to aid Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, all members of a group called the Eurasian Economic Communit.

June 17th, 2009 Belarus sets up customs posts on Russia's borderREDKI, Belarus — Belarus has set up customs posts on its border with Russia for the first time in 14 years as a trade dispute between the two countries escalates. Belarusian customs officials say as of Wednesday morning all cargo coming from Russia is subject to new rules, including more stringent inspections.

June 17th, 2009 Belarus removes customs posts on Russia's borderREDKI, Belarus — Russia and Belarus stepped back from their growing trade dispute Wednesday, as Minsk said it would dismantle new customs posts following Moscow's agreement to resume dairy imports from its western neighbor. But a potentially more troubling conflict loomed as Russia's state-controlled gas monopoly said Belarus owed more than $200 million in debts for gas supplies this year, and demanded payment by next week.

June 17th, 2009 Belarus puts customs posts on Russia's borderREDKI, Belarus — Belarus set up customs posts on its border with Russia on Wednesday for the first time in 14 years as a trade dispute between the two countries escalated. Belarusian customs officials said that as of Wednesday morning all cargo coming from Russia would be subject to new rules, including more stringent inspections.

June 14th, 2009 Belarus boycotts summit in Russia disputeMOSCOW — Two former Soviet republics refused to sign onto a deal Sunday to create a NATO-style rapid-reaction force for a Moscow-dominated security alliance, undermining a Kremlin bid to bolster its power and prestige amid a struggle with the West for regional clout. Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko angrily boycotted the Moscow summit of the Collective Security Treaty Organization amid a politically charged trade dispute with longtime ally Russia.

June 14th, 2009 Belarus boycotts summit in Russia disputeMOSCOW — Belarus boycotted a Moscow-led security summit on Sunday to protest a Russian ban on Belarusian dairy products, deepening a politically charged dispute between the two ex-Soviet neighbors. The boycott raised the stakes in the confrontation between Russia and Belarus, an authoritarian regime that is now courting the West amid increasingly strained relations with its longtime ally.

April 27th, 2009 Lukashenko visits pope after EU travel ban liftedROME — Belarus' authoritarian president met with the pope Monday on his first trip to Western Europe since the European Union lifted a travel ban imposed a decade ago over his dismal human rights record. President Alexander Lukashenko, condemned in the West for stifling dissent, met with Pope Benedict XVI at the Apostolic Palace and later met the Vatican secretary of state.

January 19th, 2009 MOSCOW - A friendship and cooperation agreement between Russia and the breakaway Georgian province of South Ossetia has come into force, the Russian foreign minister said Tuesday. Sergei Lavrov said Moscow and Tskhinvali would soon sign an array of agreements on cooperation in the military sphere, border protection and trade.