Meeting with Ukraine’s representative in trilateral contact group Leonid Kuchma

Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko met with Ukraine’s representative in the trilateral contact group Leonid Kuchma on 5 June.

Aleksandr Lukashenko and Leonid Kuchma exchanged warm greetings at the beginning of the meeting. “Leonid Danilovich [Kuchma], you are still involved in politics. And this is good,” the head of state said. Leonid Kuchma described this opinion of the Belarusian leader as a positive sign.

“I should say, this is not only my assessment but also the assessment of part of our Belarusians. They are happy (not only politicians) that you arrived in Belarus, and not only as a representative in this trilateral contact group,” Aleksandr Lukashenko stressed.

“They know my attitude to Belarus, they know about good relations,” Leonid Kuchma agreed.

The Belarusian President mentioned the development of bilateral cooperation with Ukraine at the meeting. “You are still the president of Ukraine (there are no former presidents). I want to tell you that the officially registered bilateral trade, which is basis of our relations, made up $5.5 billion that last year,” he said.

Aleksandr Lukashenko and Leonid Kuchma admitted a trustful nature of Belarus-Ukraine relations at the meeting. “As for the policy, it is the same. You know my approaches, the approaches of Belarusian people to Ukraine and Ukrainians,” the Belarusian leader remarked.

“I think you can say a lot after the recent events. With your experience, of course, you can evaluate these events under a certain political angle. I will be very pleased to listen to you. I am very happy to see you here. I have changed my schedule in order to meet with you and to discuss those issues which should be addressed in a bilateral and, perhaps, multilateral formats,” Aleksandr Lukashenko concluded.