The President of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko, plans to attend the final of the Euro 2012 football championship in the Ukrainian capital Kiev, BBC News reported.

 Lukashenko has been accused by the European Union of human rights abuses.

 Along with 200 of his officials, he is subject to strict EU and US sanctions.

He will meet Ukraine's President Viktor Yanukovich on 1 July and watch the final, according to reports in Belarussian media and Russia's Interfax agency.

Ukraine, which is co-hosting the tournament with Poland, has itself been criticised by the EU for its prosecution of former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko.

Tymoshenko was sentenced to seven years in prison last October on charges that she abused power when she was in office.

A number of European leaders have boycotted Euro 2012 games in Ukraine because of Mrs Tymoshenko's case.
However, both Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy and Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti are expected to attend Sunday's match.

 In February, the EU recalled its ambassadors to Belarus after the country expelled the bloc's representative in Minsk in protest against sanctions.