Kremlin silent about Lukashenka’s remark on Belarusians’ unwillingness to join Russia

Kremlin press secretary Dmitry Peskov evaded commenting on Alyaksandr Lukashenka’s recent statement. On March 1, during the Big Conversation with the President, he said that 98% of Belarusians would vote against the country’s accession to the Russian Federation.

“I am not going to comment on the words of Alyaksandr Ryhoravich, but at the same time, of course, the relations between our countries are friendly and absolutely fraternal,” Putin’s spokesman said.

According to him, a ‘warm attitude’ towards Belarus prevails in Russia. However, there have been no plans for a new meeting of Vladimir Putin and Alyaksandr Lukashenka yet.

“On the other hand, it does not mean that they are not able to arrange a meeting even tomorrow. You know that they have talks on a regular basis, (including) on the phone, and if necessary, they immediately make a decision to meet,” Peskov stressed.

At the end of 2018, the Belarusian-Russian relations significantly deteriorated. In late December. there were some meetings of Alyaksandr Lukashenka and Vladimir Putin. The Russian leader pressed for ‘further integration’ while his Belarusian counterpart insisted on reducing gas prices and getting compensation for the tax maneuver. The talks seem to have ended in deadlock.

In mid February, Lukashenka spent three days in Sochi where he repeatedly met with Vladimir Putin. They were reported to be discussing some of the most pressing issues, but no breakthrough was made.

belsat.eu, following ТАСС