Russia agrees with Belarus proposal on agreement with Ukraine

The talks between Russian President Vladimir Putin and President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko have concluded.

They lasted almost four hours and here are key points of the open part:

Much of it was devoted to the prospects for peace talks on Ukraine;

The Russian president agreed with his Belarusian counterpart, who suggested returning to the draft of the Istanbul agreement with Kyiv, said that if necessary, he would turn to Lukashenko to continue consultations on a peaceful settlement.

“Russia has never refused to peacefully resolve disputes with Ukraine. And its opponents backed themselves into a corner when they refused to negotiate in the hope of winning on the battlefield,” President Putin said.

“Russia is not invited to the peace conference in Switzerland, yet they say no solution is possible without it. The Kremlin is against imposing settlement schemes that have nothing to do with reality,” the Russian leader added.

“If Switzerland wants a conference on Ukraine without Russia and Belarus, they can only agree on escalation,” President Lukashenko said.

“Belarus supports Russia's position on the peace process. Everything is in place today to reach an agreement. Putin's ideas on Russia's peace initiative will resonate with the Ukrainian military. If Belarus can play any role in the peace process, it will always be by Russia's side,” President Lukashenko added.