MOSCOW, May 17. /TASS/. On Wednesday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will meet with his Belarusian counterpart Sergey Aleynik, who arrived in the Russian capital on May 15.

The ministers maintain regular contacts. During their meeting in Minsk in January they discussed, among other things, the situation in Ukraine and joint work to neutralize security threats and to boost strategic partnership.

This time, the top diplomats of Russia and Belarus will also touch upon a wide range of bilateral and international issues. The sides will address integration processes within the framework of the Union State and practical cooperation between the Russian and Belarusian foreign ministries.

Boosting integration

As closest allies and strategic partners, Russia and Belarus pay special attention to enhancing integration processes in all spheres. As the Russian Foreign Ministry said earlier, Lavrov and Aleynik would discuss in detail diplomatic support for these processes. According to State Secretary of the Union State Dmitry Mezentsev, over 80 Union State programs to the tune of 56.7 bln rubles (over $734 mln) have been implemented within the framework of the Union State Treaty.

The Russian Foreign Ministry has said that Russian-Belarusian relations "may be an example of creating an equal and mutually beneficial cooperation," and the two countries’ ties within the Union State framework - "a reference point for other integration bodies in the post-Soviet space."

Moscow and Minsk closely coordinate their actions in international organizations and formats and have common or similar approaches to practically all international issues.

The top Russian and Belarusian diplomats are expected to discuss inter-state cooperation within the Commonwealth of Independent States, cooperation in implementing the programs of Russia’s presidency in the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) and of Belarus’s presidency in the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), coordination within the framework of the United Nations and on other international platforms. They are also expected to exchange opinions on Asian, African and Latin American issues. The ministers will also touch upon international and European security, including in the biological, nuclear and information domains.

Russian and Belarusian trade and economic relations have also been developing steadily. Among other things, this is proven by the growth of trade turnover between the countries, which increased by 22% in the first quarter of 2023 compared to the same period in 2022. The Russian Foreign Ministry said that "amid the war of sanctions that the collective West is waging, Russia and Belarus are taking joint measures aimed at countering unilateral restrictions." Various aspects of industrial cooperation, import substitution and joint investment projects may also be addressed by the ministers during their Moscow meeting.

Security of borders

Russian President Vladimir Putin said in April that the governments of Russia and Belarus will draft the security concept of the Union State to reflect common challenges, among other things. Due to the West’s mounting pressure and growing NATO military potential in countries that border Russia and Belarus, Moscow and Minsk are cooperating closely to enhance common security. A joint regional group of forces has been deployed in Belarus to defend the western border of the Union State and the CSTO from the collective forces of NATO.

The foreign ministers of Russia and Belarus may discuss coordination in this domain as well. They may also address issues of expanding partnership in regional aviation.

The sides also cooperate closely on the issue of the deployment of Russian tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus. The announcement on the issue was made by Russian President Vladimir Putin on March 25. At present, Minsk is modifying the existing sites for the deployment of this type of weapons, Belarusian Defense Minister Igor Khrenin said earlier. In late March, Belarussian President Alexander Lukashenko said that should threats to Belarus continue to escalate, strategic nuclear weapons may be deployed in the republic.