Brussels  - The European Union's top diplomat is set to pay his first visit to Belarus on Thursday in a further sign of the thaw in relations between Brussels and Minsk, EU officials confirmed.

Javier Solana is to hold talks with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko and Foreign Minister Sergei Martynov before meeting opposition figures including former presidential candidate Alexander Milinkevich, a statement from Solana's office said.

Solana will bring "a message of openness but of prudence, because we want to see the regime continue along the path of political and economic reform," his spokeswoman, Cristina Gallach, told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa.

It will be Solana's first face-to-face meeting with the Belarusian leader, Gallach confirmed.

The EU has had difficult relations with Belarus for over a decade, ever since Lukashenko took over authoritarian power in 1997. In April 2006 the bloc brought in visa bans and froze the assets of top political figures, including the president.

But in the wake of August's war between Georgia and Russia, both the EU and Belarus have shown signs of wanting to improve the relationship.

After the war, Belarus unexpectedly released its last six political prisoners, while the EU in October decided to suspend its sanctions against most regime figures, including Lukashenko.

EU foreign ministers are set to decide whether to reinstate the sanctions or to continue to suspend them in March or April.

Attention is now focusing on the EU's plans to push for more cooperation with its former-Soviet neighbours in the so-called "Eastern Partnership."

The partnership, to be launched at a summit in Prague on May 7, is intended to boost ties with Ukraine, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Moldova - plus Belarus if it improves its democratic standards.

Speculation is now rising that the EU intends to invite Lukashenko to the summit in a bid to strengthen Western influence in Belarus.

Solana is set to be followed to Belarus by EU Foreign-Affairs Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner, who is scheduled to visit the country within the next few weeks. (dpa)