| A meeting between Vladimir Putin and Alexander Lukashenko is due to take place soon. This was announced by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov during negotiations with the Belarusian president in Minsk. The date of the meeting has not yet been announced. During a meeting with the Russian minister, Alexander Lukashenko complained about pressure from the United States and the EU, the meaning of which, in his opinion, was to force Minsk to abandon its friendship with Russia. “Never before in recent history,” Lukashenko said, “have we felt such support from Russia, and real, honest and frank.” Russian Ambassador to Belarus Alexander Blokhin told Vremya Novostei that “Russia is providing will always provide assistance to Belarus in the international arena.” Regarding the West’s criticism of the human rights situation in Belarus, Mr. Blokhin added: “Let the Westerners rack their brains. We have no contradictions with Belarus on these issues,” Olga TOMASHEVSKAYA. Minsk
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