 RFE/RL Belarus, Ukraine, and Moldova Report 12/3/2009 5:20:08 PM A review of RFE/RL reporting and analysis about Belarus, Ukraine, and Moldova. For more stories on Eastern Europe, please visit and bookmark our Eastern Europe page . |
| Belarus  Minsk Officials Say Flu Epidemic Is Over Health officials in the Belarusian capital, Minsk, say the flu epidemic is over in the city, RFE/RL's Belarus Service reports. More  Too Much Love For Lukashenka On his trip to Belarus, Italy's Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi had to make at least one of his characteristic quips to President Alyaksandr Lukashenka -- although it wasn't sexist or racist this time. More  Why Is Berlusconi Visiting Belarus? Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has become the first Western government leader in years to travel to Belarus, considered a pariah by the West. The trip is partly a matter of diplomatic protocol. But it may also be a chance for Berlusconi to explore better Western ties with Minsk while representing little risk for the EU. More  Belarus, Kazakhstan, Russia To Establish Customs Union Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbaev is in Minsk ahead of a Eurasian Economic Community (Eurasec) summit where Belarus, Russia, and Kazakhstan are to form a customs union, RFE/RL's Belarus Service reports. More  Lukashenka Says Medvedev's Journalist Meeting 'Senseless' Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka has called Russian President Dmitry Medvedev's meeting with members of the Belarusian media "senseless," RFE/RL's Belarus Service reports. More  Moldovan Politicians Mark Romanian National Day For the first time in a decade, Moldovan leaders held official celebrations in Chisinau on Romania's National Day and renewed calls for closer ties between the two countries, which share a common language and history, RFE/RL's Moldovan Service reports. More  No Quick Fix For Moldova's Political Crisis Moldova's political elite should resist the temptation to throw together a quick constitutional reform to get through the current crisis. Fixing the dysfunctional political system must be done in an atmosphere that rises above the political fray of the moment. More  Moldova Government Switches To 'Romanian' On Websites In a sign of growing rapprochement with neighboring EU-member Romania, Moldova's government has changed the language signs on all of its websites from "Moldovan" (MD) to "Romanian" (RO), RFE/RL's Moldovan Service reports. More  NATO FMs Sifting Through Membership Hopefuls NATO foreign ministers are debating whether to hand Membership Action Plans (MAPs) -- essential stepping stones on the road toward alliance membership -- to Montenegro and Bosnia-Herzegovina. Diplomats says that while Montenegro is likely to receive a MAP today, Bosnia, seen by many NATO members as too unstable, may have to wait until next year. More  Brazil's Lula Seeks To Expand Ties With Ukraine Brazilian President Luiz Inacio da Silva is leading a delegation in Ukraine for the second day of a two-day visit intended to increase bilateral cooperation. More December 1 is the happiest day of my life. On this day I killed the Soviet Union. More  Kyiv Officials Say Flu No Longer Epidemic In City Health officials in Kyiv announced today that the flu epidemic that has plagued the city for the past four weeks has ended, RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service reports. More Russian border guards have shot dead a Ukrainian citizen who they say was trying to illegally cross the Russian-Ukrainian border, RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service reports. More  UN Says Violence Against Women 'Pervasive' Violation Today marks the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women -- a reminder of a problem that the UN says has reached pandemic proportions. Women from across RFE/RL’s broadcast region have shared some of their own harrowing stories of abuse, and in some cases, of escape and recovery. More  Battling It Out Ahead Of Ukraine's Presidential Poll Ukrainians are getting ready to elect their first president since the Orange Revolution. Eighteen candidates are on the ballot and the stakes are high. But what's interesting for many voters is not the candidates or their platforms -- it's who's got the biggest billboard. More  A Bird Over the Dnieper It was Gogol I turned to in my search for an image of Ukraine. It is a tabula rasa; this is both an advantage and a weakness. More |
