The meeting started with a detailed discussion of international issues. Mr Putin informed Mr Lukashenko of the results of the Russian-American summit, of the NATO G20 meeting in Rome and the Russia-EU summit. They also discussed a set of issues related to Russia’s interaction with Belarus within EurAsEC.
The Presidents focused on the two countries’ economic cooperation. Mr Putin said that the creation of a single economic space topped the agenda in building a Russia-Belarus union state. He noted “tangible progress” achieved in this sphere and said that a plan of joint actions for introducing a single currency had been approved. The Russian President recalled an agreement reached at their previous meeting on extending Russian domestic fuel prices, in particular, gas prices, to the Belarusian market. Among the issues to be tackled, Mr Putin named the tax issue and a further unification of customs tariffs.
The Russian President underlined the need to take people’s interests into account in building the union state.