Meeting with Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev

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Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko met with Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev on 21 June.

Aleksandr Lukashenko said: “I welcome you in Belarus and am grateful for your coming to attend the opening ceremony of the important event [the 2nd European Games Minsk 2019]. And more than that. We’ve agreed with the President of Russia that you should take a look at the work of our joint group, which is working on problems in our mutual relations, and should give your conclusion before I meet with Vladimir Vladimirovich [Putin].”

In his words, the President of Russia intended to come to Belarus for the closing ceremony of the 2nd European Games Minsk 2019. “We will meet and we will talk about it and about other matters. During the forum of regions in your native land [in St Petersburg in mid-July] he and I will go to Valaam to pray. And we will discuss more things over there. This is the approximate plan we had. This is only a draft. Everything will depend on schedules of the presidents, primarily the President of Russia because he has to turn up for G20 [and other events],” Aleksandr Lukashenko noted.

Aleksandr Lukashenko stressed that Dmitry Medvedev’s arrival is very important first of all from the point of view of discussing Belarusian-Russian relations. “I’d be happy to discuss some matters you may deem necessary to discuss right now,” the President said. “You are our guest, our close and dear guest. We are one people as Putin says. This is why we are glad to see you here.”

Dmitry Medvedev, in turn, said that the most complicated items on the integration agenda have been left for the presidents of Belarus and Russia to resolve.

The prime minister said: “As for the main goal of my arrival, you are absolutely correct: we are now on a very important negotiation track. We are discussing an action program on fulfilling our Union State treaty, an integration program.”