MOSCOW, February 26. /TASS/. Presidents Vladimir Putin of Russia and Alexander Lukashenko of Belarus entered the St. Alexander Hall of the Grand Kremlin Palace, where the Russian leader opened the Supreme State Council meeting of the Union State of Russia and Belarus.

"Today we are holding another meeting of the Supreme State Council of the Union State, marking an anniversary. However, this is not only a ceremonial event but also a working one. I want to once again express hope that it will be held at the highest level and prove productive," Putin said. Prior to the meeting, the two leaders briefly spoke informally.

The Russian side is represented by Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin, Speaker of the Federation Council (upper house of parliament) Valentina Matviyenko, Chairman of the State Duma (lower house of parliament) Vyacheslav Volodin, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Vice Prime Minister Alexey Overchuk, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov, Presidential Aide Yury Ushakov, Russian Ambassador in Minsk Boris Gryzlov, Minister of Transport Andrey Nikitin, Economic Development Minister Maxim Reshetnikov, Finance Minister Anton Siluanov, Head of the Federal Agency on Technical Regulation and Metrology (Rosstandart) Anton Shalayev, Deputy Chief of the Government Staff Elmir Tagirov, and State Secretary of the Union State Sergey Glazyev.

The Belarusian delegation includes Prime Minister Alexander Turchin, Chairwoman of the Council of the Republic (upper house of parliament) Natalya Kochanova, chairman of the Belarusian House of Representatives (lower house of parliament) Igor Sergeyenko, Head of the Belarusian Presidential Administration Dmitry Krutoy, Foreign Minister Maxim Ryzhenkov, Belarusian Ambassador to Russia Yury Seliverstov, Industry Minister Andrey Kuznetsov, Minister of Transport and Communications Alexey Lyakhnovich, Economy Minister Yury Chebotar, and Chairwoman of the State Committee for Standardization Yelena Morgunova.

The meeting’s agenda includes review of the progress of joint efforts as part of the Guidelines for Implementing the Provisions of the Treaty Establishing the Union State in 2024-2026 framework document. Important decisions are expected to be made concerning practical aspects of the further development of integration-oriented cooperation in various areas.