Participation in sessions of the Interstate Council of the Customs Union and the Collective Security Council

On 23 May 2000, Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko took part in a session of the Interstate Council of the Customs Union. The summit in Minsk featured the leaders of Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan. The heads of state discussed more than a dozen matters regarding the development of cooperation in various fields. Aleksandr Lukashenko stressed that Belarus had always been committed to close integration and would always fulfill its obligations under the agreements.

Ahead of the meeting, Aleksandr Lukashenko met with Russia President Vladimir Putin. The presidents discussed various aspects of bilateral relations and interaction within the integration associations.

On the following day, 24 May, the CIS headquarters in Minsk played host to a session of the Collective Security Council. During the summit, Aleksandr Lukashenko noted that previously there had been “a lot of sluggishness, confusion, and uncertainty” in implementation of the Collective Security Treaty, but that period had ended and a stage of well-managed execution of decisions had begun. The participants of the session adopted nine documents, the most important of which was a memorandum aimed at improving effectiveness of the treaty and adapting it to the current geopolitical situation.