MINSK, September 30 (RIA Novosti) - Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi will pay an official visit to Belarus in October.
The visit was announced by Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini during a meeting with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko in Minsk on Wednesday.
The exact date of Berlusconi's visit was not disclosed.
Frattini said the two leaders would discuss a range of issues and that Italy would attempt to boost ties with Belarus.
"Italy is pushing for rapprochement and creating an atmosphere of trust with Belarus in European structures," Frattini said.
Belarus and the European Union have recently moved to rebuild ties. The EU lifted a travel ban on Lukashenko and invited Belarus to attend an Eastern Partnership summit earlier this year along with five other ex-Soviet states, offering closer economic and political ties in exchange for a commitment to democracy.
