MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Belarusian counterpart Alexander Lukashenko discussed the Wagner mercenary group, economic cooperation and foreign threats during two days of talks, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Tuesday.
Lukashenko, who helped broker a deal to end unrest against top military brass by the Wagner group last month, flew to St Petersburg on Sunday to begin talks with Putin.
The two men have been meeting regularly, and speaking by phone, since Lukashenko allowed Belarus to be used as a staging ground for Russian troops when they launch what Moscow calls a “special military operation” against Ukraine in February 2022.
Peskov said that the two men do not intend to reach any new agreements in the latest negotiations, but that “within the framework of close relations, the presidents adjust their positions, adjust their watches”.
He said the agenda took “the theme of the Wagner Group, and the theme of trade and economic cooperation, and the Union State, and external threats and the border of our countries.”
Political Cartoons of World Leaders
Russia and Belarus are united in the so-called “Union State” in which Moscow is the main player.
Lukashenko proved his usefulness to Putin not only in February 2022 but also by allowing Russian troops to train at his military bases and a strategic nuclear weapons station in Belarus.
The Kremlin also blamed Lukashenko for last month’s deal to end the rebellion, in which Wagner’s leader Yevgeny Prigozhin was allowed to move to Belarus. Thousands of his soldiers moved there.
Their arrival has sparked tensions with neighboring Poland, which has beefed up its border security in response, prompting a warning from Putin that any attack on Belarus would be considered an attack on Russia.
(Reporting by Reuters; Editing by Kevin Liffey/Andrew Osborn)
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