Media Focuses on Lukashenko and Putin at CSTO-EAEC Summit

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 MINSK 000682 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL PGOV ECON EINV WTRO USTR BO SUBJECT: Media Focuses on Lukashenko and Putin at CSTO-EAEC Summit MINSK 00000682 001.2 OF 003 ¶1. SUMMARY: On June 23, the heads of state and foreign ministers of countries belonging to the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) and the Eurasian Economic Community (EAEC) met in Minsk for the organizations' tandem summits. Belarusian media coverage focused heavily on statements by Belarusian President Lukashenko and Russian President Vladimir Putin on the major themes of the summit. These themes included Uzbekistan's accession into the EAEC, the 2007 EAEC budget, the status of the EAEC customs union, EAEC's cooperation and integration with other regional economic organizations, future military-technical cooperation within the CSTO, and threats facing the organizations' member states. However, conspicuously absent from the media coverage was any mention of bilateral meetings between Presidents Putin and Lukashenko, raising the possibility that pressing issues such as 2007 gas prices for Belarus and Union State negotiations were not discussed or resolved. END SUMMARY. Collective Security Treaty Organization -------------- ¶2. The foreign ministers of the CSTO approved a draft declaration calling for measures to improve the efficiency of the alliance. [Note: the CSTO includes Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, and Tajikistan.] They also discussed the military and political situation in the CSTO region and approved plans for consultations on foreign policy issues and joint actions to fight illegal trafficking in weapons. The foreign ministers agreed to hold their next meeting in November. ¶3. Belarus' Foreign Minister Sergey Martynov said that Belarus, which assumed the rotating CSTO presidency at the summit, aims to enable the CSTO to respond to an array of challenges ranging from industrial accidents to NATO enlargement. Martynov also identified new external threats to CSTO security such as illegal migration and trafficking in illicit drugs and weapons. ¶4. While speaking at the CSTO summit on June 23, President Lukashenko identified increasing the combat capabilities of the Belarusian-Russian Regional Group of Forces as a principal CSTO goal. Lukashenko argued that the Group is essential to maintaining peace and stability in the region and guaranteeing the collective security of all CSTO member states. Speaking at a news conference following the CSTO and EAEC summits, Lukashenko described Belarus as "120 percent ready to sacredly guard" the western border of the organization. ¶5. Lukashenko lauded the Concept of the CSTO Military-Technical Cooperation Program 2005-2010 as a considerable step toward integrating the member states' defense industries. He advocated further enhancing cooperation among the defense ministries and security and law-enforcement agencies of CSTO members and called for a system for coordinating member states' foreign-policy activities. According to Lukashenko, during its tenure as CSTO chair, Belarus plans to create a system of joint-response to natural and man-made emergencies. Lukashenko suggested conducting an exercise in Belarus in 2007 to practice the management of an emergency caused by an act of terrorism. ¶6. The CSTO summit took place during a joint Belarusian-Russian military exercise called "Union Shield 2006." During post-summit coverage, Russian Defense Minister and Vice Prime Minister Sergey Ivanov, who observed the final series of maneuvers on June 24, reportedly commented that the exercise was neither aggressive nor directed against any state. [Note: The exercise involved a hypothetical armed conflict between the fictional countries of Dviniia, played by Russia and Belarus, and Bugiia, which attempted to annex part of Dviniia.] Belarusian Defense Minister Leonid Maltsev mentioned that the exercise was practice for defending the borders of the Union State. Eurasian Economic Community -------------- ¶7. The EAEC heads of state formally recognized Uzbekistan's EAEC accession and adopted resolutions concerning the EAEC's 2005 budget, adjustments to the 2006 budget, and the 2007 budgetary policy. [Note: the EAEC consists of Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan.] They also approved reports on integrating the Central Asian Cooperation Organization into the EAEC and on the progress of domestic procedures required for EAEC interstate agreements. Meanwhile, high-level officials representing the central banks of EAEC members MINSK 00000682 002.2 OF 003 held a meeting in Bishkeck, Kyrgyzstan to discuss exchange rate polices, monetary policies, payment systems, and the creation of a single date base. ¶8. In general, President Lukashenko's public statements at the EAEC meetings were positive. For example, Lukashenko claimed that EAEC had significantly contributed to averting the disintegration of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). He highlighted EAEC efforts at integration with other international organizations, including the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and the Black Sea Economic Cooperation organization. Furthermore, Lukashenko praised initiatives to form a single EAEC transport space within the bloc. He also praised the EAEC's annual report to heads of state. ¶9. However, at times Lukashenko was critical of the EAEC. He remarked that the EAEC must reach agreements on specific projects rather than just conceptual frameworks. Lukashenko said the EAEC should seek a greater role in the world economy and that EAEC countries should continue coordinating their accession to the World Trade Organization. He asserted that Uzbekistan's accession has rendered EAEC objectives more ambitious. ¶10. Lukashenko also expressed concern regarding the slow pace of creating EAEC's customs union. He claimed that overall unification of customs duties rates remains at 62 percent and described member states' efforts to unify rates as insufficient. Lukashenko urged EAEC members to complete all domestic legislation required for the customs union by the end of 2006. ¶11. Lukashenko concurred with Kazakh President Nazarbayev that the EAEC should create a commission to monitor the implementation of EAEC agreements and resolutions. Lukashenko said that the commission should establish common customs tariff, external trade, energy, and transportation policies. Lukashenko called on the EAEC to develop a common energy policy including cooperative development of renewable energy sources and energy transit. [Note: Independent media reported that Belarusian EAEC representative Andrey Kobyakov stated the EAEC had made no progress with respect to integration of energy and transportation systems.] ¶12. During the summit, Lukashenko formally passed the one-year EAEC rotating chairmanship to Russian President Vladimir Putin. Lukashenko also presented Belarus' Order of Friendship between Peoples to Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. Lukashenko ordered the award on June 2 by presidential edict in recognition of Lavrov's "considerable contribution to the strengthening of friendly relations and cooperation between Belarus and Russia, as well as to the formation of the [Belarusian-Russian] Union State." ¶13. Following a joint press conference after the summit, President Lukashenko, Armenian President Kocharian, Kazakh President Nazarbayev, Kyrgyz President Bakiyev, Uzbek President Karimov, and Russian President Putin left for Silichi, a new sports and recreation center 40 kilometers outside Minsk for what official sources called "no-necktie" talks. Belarusian Television showed them clad in traditional Belarusian shirts. Putin's Reaction -------------- ¶14. Pro-Lukashenko media, such as the newspaper "Belarus Segodna," tended to highlight encounters between President Lukashenko and Russian President Vladimir Putin with footage and large color still photographs. Putin publicly thanked Lukashenko for what he called his "big contribution" to the EAEC integration process. He lauded the accession of Uzbekistan as an important step toward EAEC's merger with the Central Asian Cooperation Organization (CACO), which he predicted would yield a "serious positive effect." Putin also called for establishing closer cooperation between the EAEC and the CSTO to protect the integration processes from various threats. He predicted that the adoption of the concept of the EAEC's external activities would strengthen relations between the EAEC and other international organizations such as the CIS and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. Comment -------------- ¶15. As expected, the CSTO and EAEC Summits produced little concrete action or results. Despite the rhetoric, the heads of state only agreed that economic, political, and military cooperation and integration are important and should be continued. MINSK 00000682 003.2 OF 003 Interestingly, there was no state media coverage of possible separate talks between Presidents Putin and Lukashenko, which is unusual given Putin's rare visit to Minsk and the number of pressing bilateral issues. This glaring hole in the media coverage raises the possibility that the two leaders did not meet separately or, if they did, they were unable to break the gridlock on such issues as gas prices for Belarus and/or Union State negotiations. The independent press highlighted Putin's apparent displeasure and boredom in particular with being forced to wear a traditional Belarusian shirt and straw hat. KROL