The President of Russia congratulated his Belarusian counterpart Alexander Lukashenko on his 60th birthday.
The two leaders exchanged views on pressing issues of Russian-Belarusian allied cooperation. Coordination of foreign policy actions was considered in view of the meeting between the Customs Union heads of state with the President of Ukraine and representatives of the European Union, held in Minsk on August 26. In particular, the two presidents stressed the importance of holding in Minsk consultations of the Contact Group involving representatives of the Kiev authorities, the southeast regions of Ukraine, the OSCE and Russia.
The President of Russia also signed Executive Order awarding Alexander Lukashenko the Order of Alexander Nevsky.
Earlier Vladimir Putin sent his Belarusian colleague a message of greeting on his birthday. The message reads, in part:
“In the two decades of your presidency you have acquired the well-deserved respect of your compatriots and significant authority in the world as a wise and farsighted politician, a true patriot of your country. Under your leadership, the Republic of Belarus has been confidently moving ahead along the path of socioeconomic development and taking an active part in resolving pressing international issues.
It is hard to overestimate your personal contribution to the expansion of Russian-Belarusian ties, the growth of mutually beneficial integration within the Union State and the Eurasian Economic Union.
I value highly our relations of trust and comradeship. I expect to carry on our constructive dialogue and joint work for the benefit of the fraternal peoples of Russia and Belarus.”