MINSK, November 5. /TASS/. Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has "complained" to Putin that he was not invited to Sevastopol for Russia’s National Unity Day. In response, the Russian leader said that he would always be delighted to welcome Lukashenko in Crimea.
"Vladimir Vladimirovich used to promise me that he would bring me along to Crimea to showcase novelties there, to show what new has been done there (as loads of work has been done), and that he would drive me on the highway to Crimea, but he left alone today and had not invited me to join him," Lukashenko said on Thursday at a meeting of the Supreme Council of the Union State.
The Belarusian leader admitted that he would like to see the monument to the end of the Russian Civil War (1917-1922) erected in Sevastopol.
"Ukraine has closed, you know, its skies for Belarus, and so we are unable to get to Crimea through Ukraine. But we have property there, and there are some other problems," he added.
In response, Putin assured Lukashenko that he would always be delighted to welcome such a visitor in Crimea.
"Yes, of course, we will be pleased to have you so that you can see it (the monument - TASS)," the Russian president said in response.
Lukashenko suggested that he and Putin come to St. Petersburg together and invited the Russian leader to visit Minsk at any opportunity.
Putin told Lukashenko that he had come to Sevastopol on November 4 to mark Russia’s National Unity Day and lay flowers at the monument to victims of the Russian Civil War.
"The monument is very good. I strongly advise you to come see it," the president said.