Russia snubbed the hardline President of Belarus, Mr Alexander Lukashenko, yesterday by refusing to let his aircraft into the country and forcing him to cancel a regional visit. The decision, announced hours before Mr Lukashenko was due to visit the Russian cities of Lipetsk and Yaroslavl, provoked an angry exchange between the two former Soviet republics, which have been trying to embrace in a loose union.
Mr Lukashenko sent Mr Yeltsin a message attacking Moscow over the incident, in which Russian air controllers said his flight application had been filed too late.
"We will build our relations only on an equal basis and will not tolerate any political pressure," Mr Lukashenko said in a message read out in the Belarus capital, Minsk, by the presidential chief of staff, Mr Ivan Pashkevich.
Minsk said President Yeltsin had sent a telegram saying the visit could take place only under certain conditions related to the release of a television journalist, Pavel Sheremet, who was detained in Belarus in July.
"Let him first free Sheremet. That's how it's going to be," Mr Yeltsin said during a visit to Nizhny Novgorod.
In a clear warning to other Russian regional leaders over Mr Lukashenko's planned trip, Mr Yeltsin added: "I am warning the governors about one thing. They are forbidden to invite heads of other states without the president's permission."
Anatoly Verbin reports from Nizhny Novgorod:
Eleven months after life-saving heart surgery, President Yeltsin dropped a tantalising hint yesterday that he might consider running for a third term despite an earlier flat denial.
During his visit to Nizhny Novgorod, Mr Yeltsin (66) was asked if there was any chance he would run again in the year 2000.
To the surprise of assembled reporters, Mr Yeltsin avoided repeating the negative line he took just a month ago and replied: "My friends and colleagues have forbidden me from talking about this. Why are you pushing me so early?"