Geography of Belarus

Poland said on Monday it would press on with logging the country's primeval Bialowieza forest in defiance of a ruling by the European Union's top court, saying it needed to cut down trees to defeat insect pests, according to Straitstimes.com

BELGRADE - Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic will on Thursday pay a working visit to Belarus and meet with Belarusian counterpart Alexander Lukashenko, who will present him with a state award of the Republic of Belarus, the Order of Friendship of Nations.

Russian authorities have introduced border checks with Belarus days after Minsk's decision to scrap short-term visas for nationals of 80 states.

The measure has been ordered by Russia's domestic security service FSB Aleksandr Bortnikov, according to Sputnik News.

Russian media do not give an explicit link between the border controls and the visa waiver.

MINSK - Serbian PM Aleksandar Vucic arrived in Minsk Wednesday on an official visit to Belarus, where he will have bilateral meetings with President Alexander Lukashenko and PM Andrei Kobyakov on Thursday and Friday.

Vucic was welcomed at the Minsk airport by Trade Minister Vladimir Koltovich.

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Serbian Economy Minister Zeljko Sertic met in Minsk on Monday with representatives of the Belarus Trade and Industry Ministries.

They discussed opportunities to improve economic cooperation between the two countries and expanding business activities of companies, Tanjug said.

President Tomislav Nikolic has called on "the West and the East" to leave their disagreements aside and unite in the fight against international terrorism.