Putin and Lukashenko Meet in Minsk, Belarus

Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Belarusian counterpart, Alexander Lukashenko, met on Monday in Minsk and discussed mainly the state of relations between the two countries.

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The Independence Palace hosted the official part of the meeting, during which the two leaders discussed issues of bilateral integration, foreign policy, and economy, the creation of a common defense space, and the joint fight against Western sanctions. 

Putin referred to the development of relations between both countries. "It should be noted that Belarus is not only our good neighbor, with whom we have been working, taking into account each other's interests in all previous decades, but Minsk is, of course, our ally, in the true sense of the word."

"Together we resist the pressure of sanctions from hostile states and attempts to isolate Russia and Belarus on the world markets. We coordinate steps to minimize the impact of illegal restrictive measures on the economies of our countries. And we do it safely and effectively," Putin said.

The strengthening of Belarusian-Russian ties has become a natural response to the changing situation in the world - Lukashenko.

Belarus is our ally in the true sense of the word - Putin.

For his part, Lukashenko said after the meeting that Belarus will not be able to defend its independence and sovereignty without Russia's support. "Can we alone, without Russia, defend our independence and sovereignty? We can't!"

According to the Belarusian President, the two leaders often hold talks that mainly concern defense and security issues.