Russian President Vladimir Putin at a meeting with his Belarusian counterpart Alexander Lukashenko noted that the parties have something to talk about. During the conversation, the leaders intend to synchronize watches on a number of positions.
Thus, the Russian leader invited Lukashenka to discuss the regional agenda and evaluate bilateral military cooperation.
“Thank you for accepting the invitation, and, of course, we will talk about the regional situation, evaluate how military cooperation is going, now the active phase of military exercises, and tomorrow we will even take part together in one of the serious events in this complex of military cooperation,” the Russian President said. February 18.
According to him, the countries managed to make significant progress in creating the Union State.
“Last year was quite productive for us. First of all, we have made serious progress in building the Union State,” Putin said, adding that 28 union programs had been adopted.
On February 18, Lukashenka arrived in Moscow to meet with the Russian leader. As noted by the press service of the President of Belarus, the heads of state will discuss a wide range of issues at the meeting. Among them are the development of trade and economic cooperation, current security challenges in the region and joint actions to ensure the national interests of the two countries, as well as international issues.
As political scientist Azhdar Kurtov noted in an interview with Izvestia, during the talks, the leaders will discuss issues of military cooperation, Belarus’ procurement of weapons systems from the Russian Federation, as well as countering attempts at economic pressure from the West.
On February 12, Lukashenka and Putin held telephone conversations. The Kremlin press service said that the parties discussed the further development of bilateral cooperation, as well as the reaction of the United States and NATO to Russian proposals for the development of long-term international legal guarantees of Russia’s security.
Military exercises to test the reaction forces of the Union State began on February 10. The maneuvers are held at combined-arms training grounds in Belarus in order to qualitatively work out the tasks “to suppress and repulse external aggression in the course of a defensive operation, as well as countering terrorism and protecting the interests of the Union State.”
On November 4, 2021, a meeting of the Supreme State Council of the Union State was held. The leaders of the countries discussed issues of further bilateral cooperation and signed an integration decree approving 28 union programs. This document, according to the Russian leader, was a serious step forward. Lukashenka, in turn, called the Union State a priority for Belarus.
Source: IZ
Jane Stock is a technology author, who has written for 24 Hours World. She writes about the latest in technology news and trends, and is always on the lookout for new and innovative ways to improve his audience’s experience.
