Lukashenko meets with Russia’s Security Council members at Putin’s invitation
15:14, 12 April
photo: BELTA
Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko told the media in the Kremlin on 12 April that he held a meeting with the members of the Security Council of Russia at the invitation of Russian President Vladimir Putin, BelTA has learned.
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The head of state noted that he had discussed a number of issues with the members of the Security Council. “The Security Council held a meeting yesterday. Vladimir Vladimirovich [Putin] invited me to attend, and I got a chance to talk to all the members of the Russian Security Council. The defense minister, the Federal Security Service chief, foreign intelligence were there. Sergei Lavrov, the foreign minister, was also in attendance. I am also on good terms with the parliament speakers. Thus, I was able to discuss all important issues and simply have a small talk with them. It is a very important part of diplomatic relations,” the Belarusian leader said.
Aleksandr Lukashenko also shared details of the recent high-level talks in Moscow. “We always have a very serious, solid atmosphere during the talks with the president of Russia. We have divided our talks into two parts. Today is the official one to thank people [the cosmonauts of the two states], to congratulate our nations on Cosmonautics Day, to reiterate our commitment to further space exploration together. We will make a useful part of the Russian space program,” the president said. “We are very happy to have an opportunity to develop this hi-tech spectrum of our economy. Our people will continue cooperation with Russians. This is a good thing. This is today's key moment.”
As for the recent talks with Vladimir Putin in the Kremlin, Aleksandr Lukashenko said that the presidents spent little time on discussing economic issues. They agreed that the prime ministers of Belarus and Russia would meet on 15 April to make necessary decisions on the issues which need to be resolved in the economy. “We need to address these issues to move forward on import substitution, towards equal conditions for economic entities and people. The prime ministers will discuss all the matters in detail. Therefore, we did not go deep into them at our yesterday’s meeting,” he said.
The presidents also discussed security issues. “This is top priority for us. Do not think that we devoted all our time to discussing Ukraine. The process which is going on there is absolutely clear for us. The media, especially in Russia, are absolutely correct in their assessment of the situation in Ukraine, of everything that is taking place there. They lack both weapons and troops. Therefore, the approval ratings [of Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky] have dropped from 98% to either 14% or 30%. The decline is sharp,” the head of state emphasized.
