On May 20, Belarusian president Alyaksandr Lukashenka will be heading for Italy and the Vatican to meet with Italian Prime Minister Sergio Mattarella and Pope Francis, pro-Kremlin newspaper ‘Rossiyskaya Gazeta’ reports.
It will be his first visit to the EU after the bloc lifted its sanctions on the Belarusian authorities.
The trip was planned long ago, presidential press officer Natallya Eysmant told svaboda.org. According to her, the date and the program of the visit will be announced later.
It was as far back as 2009 when the Belarusian leader visited Italy last. He met with the then Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and Pope Benedict XVI.