Voronin and Lukashenko – only presidents to skip launch of Eastern Partnership
“Neither Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko not his Moldova counterpart Vladimir Voronin are likely to attend an EU summit with six former Soviet states next week,” EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana said Monday, EU Business informs, quoted by Info-Prim Neo.
Solana Solana made the statement after a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Luxembourg.
A European diplomat said that Prime Minister Zinaida Greceanii was likely to represent Moldova at the talks in Prague on May 7.
The uncertainty over the inaugural meeting of the EU's 'Eastern Partnership' initiative was heightened as Solana said it was unclear whether Ukraine's President Viktor Yushchenko or his rival Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko would turn up in Prague.
The EU wants to boost ties with Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Ukraine and Moldova to accelerate political and economic reforms in the region.