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Putin starts meeting with Lukashenko

This year’s first meeting of the two leaders is taking place in the Novo-Ogaryovo residence outside Moscow

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko and Russian President Vladimir Putin Vladimir Astapkovich/POOL/TASS

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko and Russian President Vladimir Putin

© Vladimir Astapkovich/POOL/TASS

NOVO-OGARYOVO, February 17. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin has started talks with his Belarusian counterpart Alexander Lukashenko.

This year’s first meeting of the two leaders is taking place in the Novo-Ogaryovo residence outside Moscow.

The Kremlin press service said the sides plan to discuss further development of strategic partnership and allied relations between the two states as well as integration cooperation as part of the Union State.

On the eve of his visit to Moscow, Lukashenko announced that he planned to discuss security, defense issues, as well as the implementation of economic instructions by the governments of the two countries.

In particular, the Belarusian president did not rule out that the sides could discuss the issue of a joint force grouping in the republic, noting that the two countries’ military carried out unit cohesion efforts in order to be prepared to repel aggression. Other issues on the agenda include energy and import replacement.

Last time, the heads of state met in late December in St. Petersburg, which hosted an informal summit of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS).

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