Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in Minsk on Dec. 19 for a one-day “working visit,” during which he is slated to hold talks with his Belarusian counterpart, Alexander Lukashenko.
Putin was accompanied on the trip by Sergey Shoigu and Sergey Lavrov, his ministers of defense and foreign affairs, respectively.
The Russian president last visited Belarus, a close ally of Moscow, in 2019.
According to the Kremlin, the two leaders will discuss “regional and international issues,” along with “the further development of [the] Russian-Belarusian strategic partnership and alliance with a focus on the integration within the Union State.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin (L) and Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko (R) walk during a meeting in Sochi, Russia, on May 23, 2022. (Sputnik/Ramil Sitdikov/Kremlin via Reuters)
The Russia-Belarus Union State Treaty was signed in 1999 with the aim of strengthening economic and defense ties between the two neighbors….