Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Belarusian counterpart, Alexander Lukashenko, began bilateral talks in the capital, Minsk, on Monday.
The Russian “Tass” agency stated that the talks started with the participation of the delegations of the two countries, to be held later on individual talks between Putin and Lukashenko.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, in statements to the agency, that the leaders of the two countries will discuss “the most pressing issues on the trade and economic agenda,” in addition to military issues and regional and international problems.
The agency stated that the talks will be followed by a joint press conference for the leaders of the two countries.