Russia president in Belarus for economic talks, WW2 ceremony - Monsters and Critics.c

[Wise1]

Russia president in Belarus for economic talks, WW2 ceremony

Minsk - Russian President Dmitriy Medvedev was in the former Soviet republic Belarus on Sunday for bilateral economic talks, and to participate in World War II memorial service.

Medvedev met his Belarusian counterpart Aleksander Lukashenko at a fortress in the west Belarusian city of Brest, where both leaders headed ceremonies marking the 67th anniversary of Nazi Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union.

The Brest fortress was one of the first targets of the German assault on June 22 1941. Most Red Army troops there died defending the position, making Brest a 'Hero City' according to Belarusian state-controlled media.

Russia has in recent years increased government emphasis on the Soviet Union's achievements in World War II. The ceremonies at the Brest fortress were broadcast live by Belarusian state-run television.

Medvedev and Lukashenko later met for talks devoted to economic issues, Belapan news agency reported.

Russia is by far Belarus' largest trading partner, partly because of customs free exchange of goods between the two countries.

Economic relations between Belarus and Russia are nonetheless often tense because of Belarus' near-total dependance on Russian energy supplies whose cost to Belarus has tripled since 2005.

Russia in recent years has allowed Belarus to purchase oil and gas on credit - a policy according to Lukashenko placing Belarus' oil and gas transportation network in danger of confiscation by Russian energy companies.

[Wise1]

B92 - News - World - "Russia, Belarus against WW2 results revision"

BREST -- Russia and Belarus denounce any attempts to revise the results of the Second World War, a joint declaration by the presidents said, RIA Novosti reports.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and his Belarusian counterpart Alexander Lukashenko signed on June 22 a declaration aimed at strengthening collective security and developing bilateral relations.

Both presidents met on the Day of Memory and Grief, the day when the Great Patriotic War between the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany began in 1941.

Some European states are currently questioning the results of World War II, treating participants in Nazi Legion formations and nationalist rebel forces during wartime as war veterans.

"A selective politicized approach must be set off against honest scholar debates. It is only on this basis that Europe can draw proper lessons from its difficult history, avoiding the repetition of tragic mistakes of the past," the joint declaration said.

The parties also decided to coordinate their approaches towards solving important international issues "in the interests of forming a fair and democratic world order with the UN's central role and the supremacy of international law," the declaration said.