Belarus, Russia clear key issues ahead of Lukashenko–Putin talks

The governments of Belarus and Russia have sought to resolve a significant portion of outstanding bilateral issues ahead of the expected meeting between the presidents of the two countries.

Belarusian Prime Minister Alexander Turchin made the statement following a briefing to President Aleksandr Lukashenko, BelTA reports.

Turchin said that during a recent meeting in St. Petersburg with Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin, the two sides discussed a broad range of Belarusian-Russian cooperation issues and reached a number of concrete decisions.

He noted that following the talks, experts continued their work in Moscow, after which an additional telephone conversation took place with his Russian counterpart, during which several issues were resolved on mutually beneficial terms.

The prime minister added that he had reported the results of the negotiations to President Aleksandr Lukashenko.

An upcoming meeting between Lukashenko and Russian President Vladimir Putin is expected to focus on the current state of and future prospects for bilateral relations. Turchin said both governments had worked to reduce the number of unresolved issues requiring discussion at the highest political level.

By Vafa Guliyeva