Meeting with Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergei Lavrov

Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko met with Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergei Lavrov in Minsk on 29 May to discuss the preparations for the forthcoming session of the Union State Supreme State Council.

Aleksandr Lukashenko warmly welcomed Sergei Lavrov stressing that Belarus is not a foreign country for him. “I am absolutely sure of this. I always cite the cooperation between the ministries of foreign affairs of Belarus and Russia as an example and a role model for all of our departments in Belarus and Russia. You always find mutual understanding. You make plans and execute them, unlike many plans made in different agencies, including the integration ones,” the President noted.

“Today’s meeting is very important as it is taking place ahead of the Supreme State Council meeting. We need to take another look at the forthcoming event, to discuss the details, specify the date if necessary. There are no changes regarding the event on Belarus’ behalf. If Russia has questions, we are ready to discuss them. I know that you were going through a transition period connected with the formation of the new government. It is a very important moment,” the head of state said.

According to the Belarus President, the second reason why this meeting is important is the need to discuss the international agenda and outline cooperation prospects.

For his part, Sergei Lavrov conveyed greetings and best wishes from Russia President Vladimir Putin to the Belarusian head of state.

The minister noted that he had already held detailed and trust-based talks with Belarusian counterpart Vladimir Makei. “We discussed the preparations for the session of the Supreme State Council. There are no obstacles that would make us change our approach to the event. Those who are responsible for the organization of the meeting have yet to confirm the date and the agenda. It is important that a very serious strategic document, namely the priorities of the further development of the Union State until 2022 will be submitted for the meeting. And, of course, we agreed that the Ministries of Foreign Affairs will monitor all the work involving other departments of our governments. We considered a number of other issues of our cooperation,” Sergei Lavrov noted.