Łukašenka, Putin to meet in Moscow on May 24

May 22, BPN. Alaksandr Łukašenka will meet Russian President Vladimir Putin on May 24 in Moscow, his press office reported. 

The Second Eurasian Economic Forum and the meeting of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council will also be held there on May 24 and 25. 

“But this [meeting with Putin] is not to just see each other,” Łukašenka has told Dźmitryj Krutoj, Belarusian envoy in Russia. The meeting should “eliminate the problems that should not be in our relations at all,” he noted. 

The talks would also focus on import substitution, as Russia promised to allocate funds to Belarus to compensate for the departure of global players from the Belarusian market, Łukašenka added.

“Neither Russia, nor Belarus were stifled by the West” as they continue to cooperate, he stressed.

Łukašenka’s recent visit to Russia took place on May 9 when he attended the Victory Day parade at Moscow’s Red Square. Footage circulated by the Russian media shows that his arm was bandaged. He struggled to move around. He was driven to a wreath laying site, whereas the other Eurasian leaders arrived on foot, and skipped the “informal breakfast” hosted by Vladimir Putin.

Łukašenka did not appear in public for the next six days after his return from Moscow. 

His April 5 meeting with Putin focused on import substitution and Russian nuclear weapons deployment in Belarus.