Aleksandr Lukashenko arrived in Russia on a working visit on 25 July. Early in the day the presidential plane landed at the airport of St. Petersburg where the head of state was welcomed by Governor of St Petersburg Alexander Beglov. The president had a substantive conversation with the governor on a number of issues right at the airfield. Then Aleksandr Lukashenko went by helicopter to the island of Valaam on Lake Ladoga in Karelia.
This place is known not only for its unique natural beauty. It is as one of the main spiritual Orthodox centers of Russia. The Valaam Monastery of the Transfiguration of the Savior is located here.
The place is quiet, beautiful, secluded and prayed-in. The place is ideal to discuss, in an informal setting, the earthly yet important matters for strengthening the spirit and cooperation between the peoples of the two countries. Apparently, this is why Aleksandr Lukashenko and Vladimir Putin have visited this sacred place for the third time.
When in the Valaam Monastery of the Transfiguration of the Savior, the heads of state visited the Church of the Smolensk Icon of the Mother of God in the Smolensk skete and visited the Сhapel of Holy Royal Martyrs. After that, Aleksandr Lukashenko and Vladimir Putin continued one-on-one communication. The heads of state spent the following day on Valaam too.
The focus was on the international and regional agenda, Belarusian-Russian cooperation. The leaders of the countries communicated a lot and substantively.
So far the media have showed only a few-minute footage of the informal meeting between the presidents. Judging by it, they also talked about climate and weather which was unusually warm even in the north of Russia this year.The beauty of the local nature was also discussed. "Beautiful! You were right to say [to the monks] that they live in paradise," Vladimir Putin said addressing his Belarusian counterpart.
We might learn more about the
negotiations from the president himself, but the situation was definitely conducive
to having productive talks.
