…ON LUKASHENKO.

On a weekend visit to Belarus, Russia’s chief security official Aleksandr Lebed conferred with president Aleksandr Lukashenko and other officials on the withdrawal of the last ex-Soviet nuclear missiles from Belarus and on the internal politics in that country. Lebed praised Lukashenko as "an active, serious, energetic man; I like such men." He dismissed Belarus parliament chairman Syamyon Sharetski’s warning of a "totalitarian takeover" by Lukashenko. On the eve of the visit, Lebed described the Belarus-Polish border as "Russia’s national border with NATO." (NTV, September 15; Komsomolskaya pravda, September 14; Ekho Moskvy, September 11. See Perspective section below)

Moscow Backs Lifting of Sanctions on Belgrade.