Press Secretary of the Russian President Dmitry Peskov said that the talks between Russian and Belarusian leaders Vladimir Putin and Alexander Lukashenko have ended. They lasted about four hours.
The Kremlin spokesman specified that the presidents of Russia and Belarus discussed issues of economic cooperation, including industrial cooperation and energy.
“Mainly industrial cooperation, cooperation in the field of energy and medicine, interaction in high-tech areas. In addition, they summed up the results of the work that has been done over the past period at the government level through the relevant departments, “Peskov told RIA Novosti on Thursday, April 22.
During the talks, the Russian leader, as noted by Peskov, contacted Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin and members of the government to “synchronize watches.”
The meeting of the presidents took place earlier on April 22 in Moscow. At the beginning of the conversation, the Russian leader, having greeted Lukashenko, said that he intends to discuss sensitive issues with him. He, among other things, also noted that relations between Moscow and Minsk are developing successfully, and also pointed to the deepening of cooperation between the countries in the field of military-technical cooperation.
Lukashenko, in turn, expressed confidence that Minsk and Moscow should strengthen cooperation on security and defense issues of the Union State.
Also, during the conversation, the leaders touched upon, among other things, Ukrainian issues. Putin said that if Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy wants to restore relations, then Russia will only welcome it. So he responded to Zelensky’s proposal for a meeting, adding that if it comes to the development of bilateral relations, then, as the head of state emphasized, Russia will receive the Ukrainian leader in Moscow at any time convenient for him.
Vladimir Putin also added that recently the current leadership of Ukraine has taken many steps destroying relations between the two countries.
Lukashenko said that it was time for Zelensky to learn how to behave diplomatically.
The President of Belarus arrived in the Russian capital on a working visit earlier Thursday, April 22. On the same day, the press service of Lukashenka noted that the topics of negotiations between the two leaders will be issues of trade and economic interaction, the joint fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, the restoration of transport links, as well as topics that were previously discussed at meetings and during telephone conversations.
In turn, the press secretary of the President of the Russian Federation Dmitry Peskov noted that at the meetings the leaders usually discuss joint current issues, the number of which is not decreasing. Also, the presidents exchange views on the latest events, for example, on the disclosure of the coup plan in Belarus.