MINSK, 18 February (BelTA) - A meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin might take place in late February, Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko said as he met with State Secretary of the Union State of Belarus and Russia Grigory Rapota in Minsk on 18 February, BelTA has learned.
"Indeed, Putin and I agreed to meet somewhere around 20 February and talk about some areas of our cooperation. But I want to say something now: as it always happens in Russia, rumors are circulating regarding the agenda. Now they are speculating that ‘Lukashenko is coming to ask for as much as $3 billion'. This is not true. I am not going there to ask for something," the Belarusian leader stressed.
"You know that we have signed the documents on the supply of hydrocarbons this year, which is a sensitive issue for us, common markets. We didn't ask for anything or argued at all. If Russia believes that the level of our economic cooperation should be this high, then it will be so. What's there to ask for? The liberals in Russia are not up to speed on the sensitive issues that we are discussing. We are not going to ask for anything," the head of state said.
The Belarusian president said that he is set to meet with Deputy Chairman of the Russian Security Council Dmitry Medvedev during his visit to Russia. "There will be a meeting with Medvedev. There is such an agreement. We will discuss the most pressing issues that we are concerned about today. Defense, security of our state are more important issues," the president said.
