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Minsk denies report of last-minute cancellation of Lukashenka-Yanukovych meeting

Alyaksandr Lukashenka's spokesman has denied reports that the Belarusian leader's meeting with Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych scheduled for last week was cancelled at the last minute because of Minsk's "unacceptable" demand.

The Kommersant-Ukraina newspaper reported on Thursday with reference to a Ukrainian diplomat that the Belarusian and Ukrainian leaders had planned to meet in Ukraine's Chernihiv province on May 28 to exchange instruments of ratification for a bilateral state border treaty, ending its 13-year ratification process.

According to the diplomat, who asked not to be named, Minsk demanded at the last minute that Ukraine pay $130 million, a state debt that it allegedly owes to Belarus.

When reached by BelaPAN, Pavel Lyohki, head of the Belarusian leader's press office, shrugged off the report and accused the newspaper of trying to create a sensation out of nothing. He said that the report was aimed at "driving a wedge in normal relations between Belarus and Ukraine."

The Belarusian-Ukrainian treaty on the delimitation and demarcation of the 1,145-kilometer border was under preparation for five years. It was finally signed on May 12, 1997 during Mr. Lukashenka's state visit to Ukraine and ratified by the Ukrainian parliament after two months. One year later, the Belarusian leader announced that his country would not ratify the treaty until Ukraine repaid its debt.

In late 2009, Minsk and Kyiv found what appeared to be a compromise solution. Belarus pledged to write off the debt and Ukraine promised in return to sell electricity to the former at a discount.

The Belarusian legislature ratified the treaty this past April and Mr. Lukashenka signed it the following month.

Kommersant-Ukraina said that the dispute over the treaty could complicate Ukraine's talks on visa-free travel with the European Union. All countries seeking a visa-free travel agreement with the EU are required to have their land borders demarcated.