The exact date of the meeting of Russian President Vladimir Putin with his Belarusian counterpart Alexander Lukashenko in Moscow has not yet been determined. On Sunday, August 30, RIA Novosti reported this with reference to the press secretary of the Russian leader Dmitry Peskov.
The agreement on a meeting of the heads of the two countries was reached by them earlier on the same day during a telephone conversation.
Also, Putin congratulated Lukashenko on his birthday. The leaders reaffirmed their mutual commitment to further strengthening the alliance and expanding cooperation in all areas.
According to the Belarusian media, the presidents “discussed all the topical issues of today” and also touched upon the situation in the republic.
On the eve, Putin said that Russia recognizes the legitimacy of the presidential elections in Belarus.
Alexander Lukashenko previously emphasized that if the situation in Belarus is missed, it could turn into a theater of military operations. According to him, his “good friend”, Vladimir Putin, adheres to the same position. According to Lukashenka, the republic is being “poisoned” in order to use it as a “springboard” for an attack on Russia.
The Russian leader, in turn, noted that Moscow is not indifferent to the events in Belarus, but it behaves much more restrained than the United States and Europe.
Since August 9, protests have not stopped in Belarus. On that day, presidential elections were held. According to the Central Election Commission, the incumbent head of state Alexander Lukashenko won over 80% of the vote. Citizens who disagreed with this result began to take to the streets. They faced opposition from security officials. There were casualties on both sides, and several civilians were killed. Later, the meetings began to be peaceful.