The Kremlin confirmed the meeting between Putin and Lukashenko on February 17

Russian President Vladimir Putin will meet with his Belarusian counterpart Alexander Lukashenko on Friday, February 17, in Novo-Ogaryovo, Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

“As for the preparations for the meeting tomorrow of the two presidents, Putin and Lukashenko, yes, I can confirm that such a meeting is being prepared,” Peskov said, adding that the meeting would be held in Novo-Ogaryovo. According to him, “it will be a detailed conversation.”

“The cameras will be able to film the beginning of this conversation, some first exchange of phrases will traditionally be available,” Peskov said.

Previously close to the press service of the President of Belarus, the Telegram channel “Pool of the First” informedthat Lukashenka announced a meeting with Putin on February 17 during a conversation with journalists.

At a meeting with foreign and Belarusian journalists, Lukashenka toldthat at a meeting with the Russian president they will discuss issues of security and defense. Issues of a political, economic and military nature will also be touched upon, which will be discussed at a meeting of the Supreme State Council of the Union State, the Belarusian president added. The meeting may take place in April-May, he specified.

“One of the most important issues: we still want to see how the governments of Belarus and Russia fulfill the tasks we have set. First of all, economic: in terms of energy resources, the single market, import substitution – how they are financed, how they are implemented,” Lukashenka said.

A possible meeting between Putin and Lukashenko on February 17 was previously reported by the press secretary of the Russian President Dmitry Peskov. Answering a question from journalists whether the meeting of the presidents could take place on Friday, the Kremlin spokesman declaredwhat can.

February 6 Peskov declaredthat Putin and Lukashenko may meet within the next few months. The Kremlin representative recalled that the day before, on February 5, Putin and Lukashenko had a telephone conversation, during which the leaders of the states discussed a wide range of issues, including the issue of holding a meeting of the Supreme State Council of the Union State.

February 5 at the press service of the President of Belarus reportedthat the meeting is tentatively scheduled for April-May, at the same time all the necessary documents will be signed, formalizing the “existing agreements”.

In addition, the leaders of the two countries discussed issues of bilateral relations – in particular, further steps to ensure the security of Russia and Belarus. Putin and Lukashenko agreed to fix the date of the meeting “in the near future”. “Its main goal will be to control the execution by the two governments of the instructions given by the presidents earlier. First of all, in the field of import substitution and in all areas of anti-sanction cooperation,” the press service of the Belarusian leader specified.

The last time Putin and Lukashenko met was on December 19, 2022, when the Russian President visited Minsk for the first time since 2019. During the talks, the Russian President declaredthat Belarus is an ally of Russia “in the literal sense.”