On paper still Europe’s biggest pariah, the Belarusian leader is keen to use the Minsk summit to boost popularity at home and mend fences with the EU.
The last time an EU leader visited Minsk was Italy’s Silvio Berlusconi in 2009 to sign arms and energy deals.
The last time any European VIP was there was when the German and Polish foreign ministers went in 2010 with an offer of €3 billion in return for reforms.
Then, on 19 December the same year, following a rigged electi...
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