ST. PETERSBURG, July 23. /TASS/. Relations between Moscow and Minsk continue to develop and even at a faster pace than expected, Russian President Vladimir Putin said at a meeting with his Belarusian counterpart Alexander Lukashenko.

"All our plans [for the development of Belarusian-Russian cooperation] are being implemented, and even at a better pace than you and I expected," the Russian leader said.

He also drew attention to the good state of the Russian and Belarusian economies. "All the main indicators give us reason to believe that this year, at any rate, we will pass confidently, calmly and with good [economic] growth," the Russian leader pointed out. "Everything is moving at least, modestly speaking, satisfactorily," Putin summed up.

 

About the negotiations

 

Lukashenko, for his part, pointed out that his current meeting with the Russian leader had been planned a long time ago. "We agreed six months ago," he pointed out. "It's true. We agreed a long time ago," Putin confirmed, stressing that he and Lukashenko "always have something to talk about.".