Meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin

Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko and Russian President Vladimir Putin held a meeting in Bishkek, the Kyrgyz Republic, on 26 November.

“First of all, thank you for taking the time to keep your promise. We had agreed in advance to meet at this time. I understand that you have had busy days, as an official visit [of the President of Russia to Kyrgyzstan] is always quite a heavy workload,” the Belarusian leader remarked.

“Nevertheless, as you correctly pointed out, there is always something to discuss. There are issues that need to be addressed and we need to consult on certain matters for further decision-making. These issues are not decreasing in number, on the contrary, they are becoming increasingly serious. Therefore, I am prepared to discuss the pressing issues facing Russia and Belarus,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said.

Vladimir Putin, speaking about the development of bilateral relations between Belarus and Russia, drew attention to the strong momentum in mutual trade. The figures were impressive, over $50 billion, and have now shown good growth. Russia leads among countries investing in the Belarusian economy. The two sides are systematically implementing plans to build and improve the Union State [of Belarus and Russia]. “This is very important,” Vladimir Putin emphasized.

“Discussions are ongoing in the energy sector, and I think they are proving to be fruitful,” he added.

Overall, as the Russian President noted, relations are also developing with other countries - partners in the Eurasian Economic Union. For example, the momentum in trade and economic relations is also positive with Kyrgyzstan, where the CSTO summit is taking place. “In general, I believe things are going well within the framework of the Eurasian Economic Union. The trends are very positive,” Vladimir Putin said.