MINSK, December 23. /TASS/. President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko has announced his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin before the yearend and also his official visit to China, Belarusian news agency BelTA reported on Monday.

"I am having a meeting with Vladimir Putin in just a couple of days. We will discuss all the issues that need to be discussed at our level," Lukashenko said as he hosted a meeting on the development of mechanical engineering in Belarus.

The Belarusian president pointed out that the coming year is expected to be difficult for a number of reasons.

"We need to deepen our presence on traditional markets. Hence, these visits to Oman, the Emirates, as well as an upcoming visit to China and so on," he said. "This is about diversifying our markets."

Russia’s second-largest city of St. Petersburg is set to host on December 25-26 an informal meeting of the CIS (the Commonwealth of the Independent States) leaders and the session of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council.