Russian President Vladimir Putin and Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko held talks on Friday, the Kremlin said, and discussions were expected to focus on the war in Ukraine. Meeting at Putin's Valdai residence in northwestern Russia, the two leaders addressed trade and economic cooperation, the implementation of joint projects and issues of regional security. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov earlier told state news agency TASS that no press statements or document signings were planned after the meeting. The meeting follows mounting tension between Belarus and Ukraine, whose president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, says he believes Putin is trying to get Lukashenko to step up his support for Russia in the conflict. Moscow and Minsk deny that, and Belarus says it is Ukraine and the West that are fueling tensions. Lukashenko said on Thursday he had met representatives of Zelenskiy and warned them not to try to drag his country into war. Putin and Lukashenko are close allies and meet frequently. The Kremlin has accused Ukraine of threatening the sovereignty of Belarus after Zelenskiy last Friday gave Minsk a week to remove signal relay stations he said were being used to help guide Russian attacks. The Kremlin said on Monday that Putin and Lukashenko were expected to discuss Zelenskiy's remarks "in the foreseeable future". On Wednesday, Zelenskiy said the relay stations had stopped working, although there was no independent confirmation of this. While Lukashenko has not sent Belarusian troops to fight alongside Russia, he let Putin use Belarus as a launchpad to attack Ukraine in February 2022 and later agreed to let Russia station tactical nuclear missiles on Belarusian territory.
