LUKASHENKA UNINVITED TO SUMMIT.

Ukraine at the last moment withdrew what had looked like a preliminary invitation to Belarusan president Alyaksandr Lukashenka to attend the summit. In Minsk, a fuming Lukashenka castigated Kyiv for “bowing to the European Union” in rescinding the invitation. But Ukrainian Foreign Minister Borys Tarasyuk responded that the decision to withhold an invitation had been Kyiv’s alone. While restating their interest in “normal” bilateral relations with neighboring Belarus, Ukrainian officials made clear that the international ostracism of Lukashenka had precluded his attendance. The diplomatic incident underscored the existence of a gap–and a Russian-oriented wedge–at the center of the Baltic-Black Sea region (Belarusan TV, Itar-Tass, September 10-12).

UKRAINE CONCERNED BY EUROPEAN UNION’S APPROACH TO ENLARGEMENT.