Lukashenko Set to Win Belarus Election After Oil Deal
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Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, whose regime the U.S. dubbed the “last dictatorship in Europe,” is set to prolong his rule in a Dec. 19 election that may bind him more closely to Russia after overtures aimed at building ties with western Europe yielded little.
The Belarusian leader dropped his objections to further economic integration with Russia last week in exchange for duty-free oil. Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said yesterday that Russia will deliver as much as 21 million metric tons of crude to Belarus duty-free in 2011, costing Moscow $5.3 billion in lost revenue.