Diplomats who have served in Belarus say Lukashenko is the ultimate enigma. Certainly, using Russian money to keep his state-dominated economy alive. But too simplistically dismissed as a Russian lackey.

Ukraine is set to be high on the agenda when US President Joe Biden holds a hotly-anticipated summit with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Switzerland on June 16.

Moldova's economy shrank 7 percent in 2020 due to the pandemic, but the government expects it to grow by 6 percent this year.