Negotiations with Russian President Vladimir Putin

The 28 January agenda was mainly focused on economic and military-industrial matters, Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko said at the start of the talks with Russian leader Vladimir Putin in Konstantinovsky Palace.

According to the President, these issues were discussed after the joint event on Antarctic exploration: "After the event, we delved into economic and military-industrial matters. We don't hide anything. We discussed many problems, we talked about the way forward and the systems we will develop taking into account the bitter experience of the special military operation." 

Vladimir Putin said he was going to brief Aleksandr Lukashenko about what is happening in the zone of the special military operation.

In addition to the upcoming meeting of the Supreme State Council, the leaders of the countries had two event-packed days and attended the events important for the peoples of both countries to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the lifting of the siege of Leningrad. A memorial complex was opened near St. Petersburg in memory of the USSR civilian victims of the Nazi genocide during the Great Patriotic War and a commemorative concert was held in St. Petersburg. 

"I already said at the monument dedication ceremony that you got it right that we indeed under-commemorated civilians. As Nazis were breaking through they killed the people who could not defend themselves, pumped blood out of children. It is a monumental and at the same time very telling monument. It's very decent and solid. The pinnacle of the day was a commemorative concert at a large stadium. It was our tribute to the defenders, the survivors of the siege. Thank God many are still alive. We owe them a debt of gratitude. Therefore, I am grateful to you for inviting me," Aleksandr Lukashenko said. 

"It would be nice to have someone from Ukraine standing together with us. After all, three Slavic peoples suffered the worst. But that's their choice. They have a different policy today... But I think they will come back into the fold. They will have no other choice," the President emphasized.