Putin To Continue Talks On Cooperation, Security With Lukashenko On Tuesday - Kremlin

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 27th September, 2022) Russian President Vladimir Putin will continue talks with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko in Russian southwestern city of Sochi later on Tuesday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

"The president is in Sochi. Today his talks with Belarusian President Lukashenko will continue," Peskov said, answering a question whether the two leader discussed the draft agreement on a $1.5 billion loan to Belarus for import substitution.

Putin and Lukashenko held talks in Sochi on Monday and discussed bilateral cooperation, including economy and regional security. The leaders also touched on issues related to the economy, food supplies and fertilizers under the Union State of Russia and Belarus.

Belarusian Prime Minister Roman Golovchenko said in August that the agreement on the Russian loan to Belarus for import substitution was in the final stages of preparation. Belarus proposed the realization of 23 investment projects worth $2.

2 billion within the framework of import substitution work carried out in the Union State with Russia against the background of Western sanctions, but Russia approved only 14 of them worth about $1.6 billion.

Minsk and Moscow have been facing waves of Western sanctions since the start of Russia's military operation in Ukraine. Western countries have since been providing Kiev with military and financial assistance.

Relations between Minsk and the Western countries soured after the 2020 presidential election in Belarus, which provoked mass protests in the republic that were suppressed by law enforcement officers. Lukashenko accused the West of direct interference in the situation in the republic. Western countries began gradually imposing sanctions against Belarusian officials and entities while accusing Minsk of election violations and human rights abuses.