Belarus leader defiant ahead of gas talks

Alexander Lukashenko, the authoritarian Belarus leader, was on Friday defiant in the face of Russian threats to cut gas supplies to his country, just as his officials arrived in Moscow for last-minute talks aimed at resolving the dispute.

However, a spokesman for Gazprom said he was not feeling optimistic about a possible breakthrough in the dispute between the two countries. The European Commission said it was closely monitoring a situation that could affect gas supplies to member states, particularly Lithuania, Poland and Germany.
Financial Times