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Kremlin confirms upcoming Putin-Lukashenko meeting

The meeting is due to take place in Russia's Sochi

SOCHI, August 22. /TASS/. The Kremlin has confirmed the upcoming meeting between Russian and Belarusian Presidents Vladimir Putin and Alexander Lukashenko in Sochi on Wednesday.

"Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko is arriving in Sochi for a working visit today, and President [Putin] will continue his working day with contacts with the Belarusian leader," Russian Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

"We also expect that the heads of Russia and Belarus will attend a sports event late in the evening together," the Kremlin spokesman added without providing more details.

Russia-Belarus relations

Any disagreements between Russia and Belarus are technical and can be resolved, Peskov told reporters commenting on remarks by Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko about relations with Russia.

The Kremlin spokesman recalled the format of the Union State of Russia and Belarus and stressed that Belarus is Russia’s closest ally and principal economic partner. "The scope of relations (between Moscow and Minsk) in all spheres is so huge that these relations cannot exist without some minor issues. These are technical issues, which can be resolved," Peskov said, adding that the two presidents’ meetings are held, in particular, with this aim in view.

According to the Kremlin spokesman, Russian President Vladimir Putin will meet with his Belarusian counterpart in Sochi on Wednesday. For its part, the Belarusian leader’s press service reported that "the two heads of state will discuss in detail a wide range of issues related to Belarusian-Russian cooperation, interaction in integration associations and international platforms and the global agenda."

On August 10, Lukashenko said during his visit to the Gomselmash agricultural machinery manufacturer that Russia allegedly did not honor its commitments within the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) and competed unfairly with its partners in the Union. He promised that Belarus would make every effort to create equal competitive conditions.