Vladimir Putin and Alexander Lukashenko met on June 26 at the Russian president’s residence in Valdai, according to the Kremlin press service.
According to the official statement, the two leaders discussed the Union State agenda, trade and economic cooperation, joint economic projects, and issues related to regional security.
A nearly identical statement was published by Pul Pervogo, a Telegram channel close to Lukashenko’s press service. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said no media statements were planned after the meeting.
Agentstvo noted that Putin does not usually host foreign leaders at his Valdai residence.
The talks took place against the backdrop of recent statements from Kyiv toward Minsk. On June 19, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy demanded that Lukashenko remove relay transmitters along the Belarus-Ukraine border. Zelenskyy said the equipment had been used to help direct Russian strikes. He also warned that if this was not done within a week, Ukraine would do it itself.
On June 24, Zelenskyy said the transmitters on the border had stopped working. The next day, Lukashenko said he had recently met with Zelenskyy’s representatives in Minsk.
“I told them directly: if he thinks he can speak to us like that and drag us into war, then he must understand that the nature of the war would change instantly. It would be a completely different war. By the way, we received a response: the president and they understand this. So let’s negotiate,” Lukashenko said.
Earlier, during a meeting with Russian Ambassador Boris Gryzlov, Lukashenko also said Belarus did not want to take part in the Russian-Ukrainian war.