Lavrov, BiH leaders to discuss Bosnian settlement prospects.

SARJEVO, November 5 (Itar-Tass) - Russian Foreign Minister Sergei
Lavrov and the leadership of Bosnia and Herzegovina will discuss on
Thursday prospects for the Bosnian settlement and economic issues.
The visit to Sarajevo "will have an important significance for
promoting the Russian approaches with respect to the Balkans, taking into
account the increased attention that is given to the situation in Bosnia
and Herzegovina in the context of international efforts aimed at
strengthening peace and security in this region," Russian diplomats said.
Russia is one of international guarantors of the Peace (Dayton)
Agreement for Bosnia and Herzegovina signed in December 1995 that put an
end to the blood-shedding conflict in the country.
Together with other leading states, Russia is an active participant in
the monitoring of the implementation of the agreement.
"We are for the strict observance of the Dayton principles of the
Bosnia and Herzegovina state system, its unity and territorial integrity,"
a Russian Foreign Ministry official said.
However, experts believe that a certain political crisis is on hand,
which was caused by the deadlocked dialogue involving local politicians
trying to reform the BiH constitutional arrangement, without violating the
basic principles of the Dayton agreement.
The Serb side seeks the abrogation of the office of the High
Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina, which enjoys practically
unlimited supra-institutional powers, while keeping the prerogatives
guaranteed to the Republika Srpska by the Dayton accord.
The Bosnian Muslims seek to build a power vertical which would give
Sarajevo maximum powers. For their part, Herzegovina's Croatians, who have
to co-exist with the Muslims within the framework of the BiH federation,
seek to be granted the status of a titular national, equal in rights,
which would guarantee them broader autonomy and self-rule.
"Until now, all the attempts to break the impasse in the Bosnian
political process have been unavailing," analysts said, "the country is
the only international protectorate on the Balkans, which has no uniform
approach to issues of domestic and foreign policies. These circumstances
negate all the attempts to inspire the process of BiH integration into
Euroatlantic bodies."
A Russian Foreign Ministry official underlined that "significant
adjustments of the Dayton arrangement is only possible on the condition of
consensus of the nations that make up the states. We insist on the
necessity of consistent handover of the responsibility for the fate of the
country to the Bosnian parties. We're convinced that the pre-requisites
are ripe for dismantling the office of the High Representative and
converting it into the mission of a special EU representative."
Aside from the political aspect, Sergei Lavrov will discuss economic
issues.
"We stand for expanding trade and economic ties," the Russian Foreign
Ministry said.
"At present, our cooperation with Republika Srpska plays the decisive
role in bilateral cooperation, but Russian business circles are interested
in pursuing economic activities, on a mutually advantageous basis, in the
entire territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
In this connection, the parties plan to consider some open issues of
Russian-Bosnia-Herzegovina cooperation, concerning financial settlements
and the expansion of the legal and contractual basis of relations.
The parties are expected to discuss BiH's future participation in the
work of the UN Security Council as a non-permanent member in 2010-2011.


.Belarus president to visit Ukraine.

KIEV, November 5 (Itar-Tass) - Belarussian President Alexander
Lukashenko begins his first official visit to Ukraine. He arrived in the
Ukrainian capital on Wednesday evening.
In the course of his two-day visit, Lukashenko will hold talks with
Ukrainian leader Viktor Yushchenko, Prime Minister Yulia Timoshenko and
parliament speaker Vladimir Litvin.
At the recent CIS summit in Chisinau, Yushchenko and Lukashenko agreed
to hold negotiations in Kiev.
The Ukrainian leader said that "relations between the two countries
are good-neighborly and landmark," but in the present economic conditions,
they "require serious improvement and development."
According to the press service of the Ukrainian president, the parties
will consider "pressing issues of bilateral relations, and cooperation in
implementing projects within the EU's Eastern Partnership initiative."
Finalizing the border delimitation process is also on the agenda, the
press service said
Ukraine and Belarus are expected to adopt a joint communique and sign
a number of bilateral documents.
The presidents met twice this year: in Chernigov on January 20 and in
Gomel on May 6. There have been no official top-level visits until now.

.Rubin Kazan draws 0-0 with Barcelona in Champions League.

KAZAN, November 5 (Itar-Tass) - Russia's Rubin Kazan and Spain's
Barcelona drew 0-0 in a Champions League match on Wednesday. The match
took place at the Tsentralny Stadium in Tatarstan's capital.
-0-myz