Belarus offers Russia help over U.S. missile shield

By Oleg Shchedrov and Andrei Makhovsky

MINSK (Reuters) - Ex-Soviet Belarus agreed to join forces with Russia in opposing U.S. plans for a missile shield in Europe on Friday after the Kremlin patched up differences with its strategic ally by promising cheap gas next year.

"Dear comrades, we have successfully completed two major events," a smiling Belarussian President Alexander Lukashenko told a news conference ending President Vladimir Putin's first official visit to the allied kin Slav state since 2003.

The visit was timed to coincide with a summit of the Russia-Belarus "union state" - a reunification project agreed upon by Moscow and Minsk 10 years ago but still up in the air.

The attention of Russia watchers was pinned to Putin's visit mainly because of media rumors it could produce a new post of a union president -- one of the jobs the Kremlin leader could take after quitting next year to maintain political influence.

But the real news came from a different corner.

"Belarus is ready to play its role in the issues of planned deployment in Europe of U.S. missile defense systems," Lukashenko said at the summit.

Putin, increasingly at odds with the West over a range of security issues, responded promptly by promising Minsk only a modest increase in gas prices next year and a $1.5 billion loan to cover it.

Lukashenko did not say what form his country's assistance on the defense shield might take, but a Russian general last month suggested deploying missiles in Belarus in retaliation for the proposed U.S. missile shield.

Lukashenko, barred entry to most Western countries because of his poor track record on democracy, also said he would work with Russia on the Conventional Forces in Europe (CFE) treaty, which limits weapons levels on the continent.

Moscow this week froze its obligations under the treaty, and policymakers say they cannot rule out boosting weapons levels on Russia's western borders if NATO countries do not heed its concerns about the treaty.

GAS PRICES

Ties between Belarus and Russia, for years very close allies, had effectively been stalled in the past few years because of disputes over gas and other issues. Putin in past years has not bothered to hide his distaste for Lukashenko.

But the mood at the meeting in Minsk was markedly cordial.

Last year, Russian gas export monopoly Gazprom sharply increased prices for Belarus, scrapping a system of preferential rates. Gazprom had been considering a new price hike in 2008.

Signaling an effort to draw a line under that dispute, Putin said the price rise next year would be within the parameters set out in a contract signed last year.