MINSK, December 23. /TASS/. Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko will set off on a working visit to Russia on Saturday, the BelTA news agency reported.

According to the news outlet, Lukashenko will visit the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center outside Moscow where Belarusian space flight candidates are going through a selection process. He will be briefed on the facility’s activities, and the prospects for future space cooperation between Russia and Belarus will also be discussed.

While in Russia, the Belarusian leader will also participate in an informal summit of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) set to be held in St. Petersburg on December 26-27.

Russia’s Roscosmos State Space Corporation said earlier that six Belarusian space flight candidates had arrived at the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center for medical examinations. "Depending on the results, a medical commission will determine the candidates’ fitness for a space flight," the corporation said.

On December 19, Putin confirmed plans to launch a Belarusian cosmonaut to the International Space Station in 2023.