Putin hopes constitutional reform will help settle Belarus issue Putin hopes constitutional reform will help settle Belarus issue MOSCOW, Sept 16: Russian President
Vladimir Putin said Monday that he hopes a
constitutional reform planned by his
Belarusian counterpart Alexander
Lukashenko will help settle the ongoing
crisis in Belarus.
“I am sure that, bearing in mind your
experience in politics, work in this area
will be organized at the highest level and
this will create new frontiers in the
development of your country’s political
system,” Putin said at a meeting with
Lukashenko in Russia’s Sochi.
He reiterated Moscow’s position that
Belarusians themselves, in a calm mode and
in dialogue with each other, come to
understand this situation and reach a
common decision, without any prompts and
pressure from outside, reports Xinhua.
He added that Russia views Belarus as its
closest ally and will fulfill all the
obligations it has assumed in relation to
the neighboring country.
Putin recalled that Russia and Belarus
have very deep and stable cooperation in
various areas, with Russia being the
biggest investor in the Belarusian
economy.
He said that the two countries need to
make additional efforts to not only
restore the trade and economic relations
damaged by the COVID-19 pandemic, but also
create conditions for moving them forward.
For this, Russia will provide Belarus with
a state loan of 1.5 billion U.S. dollars,
Putin said.
Moscow and Minsk should also continue
cooperation in the military and defense
sphere, Putin added. At the meeting,
Lukashenko said that Russia and Belarus
must keep conducting joint military drills
and plan them for years to come.
To this, Putin responded that the two
countries conducted joint military
activities almost every month and they
will continue in accordance with joint
agreements.
|
Popular
SPORTS NOTES
TRADE NOTES
|