Unidentified assailants threw Molotov cocktails at Lithuania's embassy in Minsk late Nov. 6, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reported Nov. 7.

Vietnam is set to sign an agreement to establish a free trade zone with the countries of the Russia-led Customs Union, The Voice of Russia reported Nov. 7.

The Belarusian government will be downsized by 25-30 percent, Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko said Oct. 1, RIA Novosti reported.

Leaders of Belarus' five opposition parties released a statement Sept. 23 that said the country's 2012 parliamentary elections were not transparent or democratic, so the opposition will not recognize the results, Interfax reported. According to the statement, the executive branch interfered with election campaigns and exerted pressure on opposition candidates and their supporters.

The U.S. Treasury listed Belarus firm Belvneshpromservice and the Syrian military's Army Supply Service for sanctions, under the U.S. executive order 13382, which identifies targets of sanctions as proliferators or supporters of proliferators of weapons of mass destruction, Now Lebanon reported Sept. 19.

Russian President Vladimir Putin will visit Kazakhstan on Sept. 19 for talks with Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev during the Russia-Kazakhstan Interregional Cooperation Forum, according to a Sept. 12 statement released by Putin's office.

Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko fired Belarusian Foreign Minister Sergei Martynov on Aug. 20, according to the president's office, Reuters reported. Lukashenko's former chief of staff, Vladimir Makaei, was named the new foreign minister. Lukashenko has fired several top officials in recent weeks following the Swedish teddy bear incident.