The leaders of Russia and Belarus Vladimir Putin and Alexander Lukashenko on Thursday, October 24, will hold talks in Minsk as part of a meeting of the Eurasian Economic Council. One of the central topics of the conversation between the heads of state will be the criminal case against the owners and management of the largest Russian producer of mineral fertilizers, OJSC Uralkali. reports this RIA Novosti with reference to Putin's assistant Yuri Ushakov.

The conflict between the Belarusian authorities and Uralkali escalated at the end of July, when the Russian company broke off cooperation with the trader BKK, a joint venture with the state-owned Belaruskali. This decision collapsed prices for raw materials and quotations of the largest players in the potash fertilizer market, which is structured according to the principle of oligopoly.

At the end of August, during an official visit to Minsk, the general director of Uralkali, Vladislav Baumgertner, was detained, and the main owner of the company, Suleiman Kerimov, was put on the wanted list. Since then, Lukashenko has repeatedly sharply criticized the managers and owners of Uralkali, and a case was also brought against Baumgertner in Russia.

“Currently there are close contacts between the law enforcement agencies of the two countries. It is possible that during the conversation, and I have already mentioned that this will be a meaningful bilateral conversation, this issue, among others, will be touched upon,” Ushakov commented on the prospects for discussing the Uralkali case in Minsk on Thursday.

Putin will discuss the Uralkali case with Lukashenko in Minsk