Putin and Lukashenko agree to meet in Moscow ‘in the coming weeks’
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko held a telephone conversation during which they agreed to meet in Moscow, reported by the Kremlin's press service.
"It has been agreed to hold a meeting in Moscow in the coming weeks," the statement reads.
The Kremlin’s press service noted that during the conversation the "the sides confirmed their mutual aspiration to further strengthen the Russian-Belarusian alliance and expand mutually beneficial cooperation in all spheres".
Dmitry Peskov, a spokesman for the Russian President, told RIA Novosti that the exact date of the meeting of the presidents in Moscow is not yet available. Lukashenko's press service noted that the President of Belarus "will make a visit to Moscow in the near future."
Earlier, the Kremlin said that Putin does not plan to visit Minsk.
This is the fifth telephone conversation between Putin and Lukashenko since the beginning of the protests in Belarus. In previous talks, the presidents discussed mass protests in Belarus, joint actions in case of external threats and "pressure on the republic from outside."