Talks between Alexander Lukashenko and Russian President Vladimir Putin conclude in Sochi resort in Russia to discuss further integration of Belarus and Russia, US media reports Radio Free Europe.
The meeting took place at a time when protests against the Lukashenko regime in Belarus and the rule of law and corruption in Russia were continuing in both countries.
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The talks lasted a total of six hours on Monday, February 22, and the politicians also went on joint trips with snowmobiles and skis. According to the Kremlin’s press service, the two countries’ agenda included “strategic partnership and alliance”, economic relations, energy and integration within the union.
In a public part of the talks, which was open to the press, Putin and Lukashenko discussed the supply of a Russian coronavirus vaccine to Belarus.
As Lukashenko was quoted in the Russian media, the action plan for co-operation between the two countries still needs to develop “maybe six, seven [integrācijas – Radio Brīvā Eiropa] plans from 33 ». “Everyone else is ready to sign,” Lukashenko said.
BNN has already reported that widespread and long-lasting protests in Belarus were initially provoked by the August 9, 2020 presidential election, in which Lukashenko was declared the winner for the sixth time in a row. The elections were unfair and falsified, according to both the Belarusian opposition and the international observers not allowed into the country at the time, as well as the Baltic States and the EU.
The UN estimates that more than 30,000 arrests have been made in Belarus since the start of the protests, Radio Free Europe.
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