Presidents to meet at Slavic festival

The Russian president, Vladimir Putin, is in Belarus to attend a cultural festival known as the Slavic Bazaar.

He is expected to have talks on economic issues and next month's summit of the Commonwealth of Independent States with the presidents of Belarus and Ukraine, Alexander Lukashenko and Leonid Kuchma, who are also at the festival in the town of Vitebsk.

The Slavic Bazaar features drama, jazz and folklore presentations from many east European countries, but correspondents say the participation of the three presidents will give it a political colouring at a time when Ukraine is seen as drawing closer to Russia.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service