Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Belarusian counterpart Alexander Lukashenko will meet in St. Petersburg on December 28-29. This was announced on Friday, December 24, at the press service of Lukashenka.
Lukashenko will arrive in St. Petersburg on December 28, where he will take part in an informal meeting of the heads of the CIS member states. The meeting will discuss common topical problems and further steps to improve the effectiveness of cooperation.
“The upcoming meeting is also significant in that December marked the 30th anniversary of the formation of the CIS,” BelTA informs referring to the press service of the Belarusian leader.
A meeting between Putin and Lukashenko is scheduled for December 29, where topical issues of cooperation between the two countries will be discussed.
As the Kremlin reported earlier that day, the meeting of the heads of the CIS member states will be attended by President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan, Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko, President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Zhomart Tokayev, first President of the Republic of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev, head Kyrgyzstan Sadyr Japarov, President of Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon, leader of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, as well as President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev.
A day earlier, during a press conference, Putin spoke about the progress in rapprochement between Russia and Belarus within the framework of the Union State. According to him, the President of Belarus and his team are not easy negotiators, but “they have reached an understanding of the pace and steps” to move towards further integration.
The Russian leader added that the level of integration between Russia and Belarus is much lower than that of the European Union. The countries first need to synchronize their legislation in the economic sphere, the president said.
On November 4, a meeting of the Supreme State Council of the Union State was held. Putin and Lukashenko discussed issues of further bilateral cooperation, and also signed an integration decree approving 28 union programs. This document, according to the Russian leader, was a serious step forward.
Lukashenko, in turn, called the Union State “a priority of priorities” for Belarus. He explained that the countries are actively cooperating in various areas and are aimed at further expanding union integration, as well as protecting historical and moral values.
The Treaty on the Creation of the Union State between Russia and Belarus entered into force on January 26, 2000. In December 2019, on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the document, it was proposed to adopt a program for deepening integration.
