MOSCOW, 9 October - Russian President Vladimir Putin presented his Belarusian counterpart Alexander Lukashenko with the highest state decoration - the Order of St Andrew the Apostle.
The ceremony took place in the Kremlin's Ondrejsky Hall. Putin placed the chain of office on Lukashenko's shoulders; the two leaders shook hands and embraced.
Putin signed a decree awarding the order to Lukashenko on August 30, when the Belarusian leader turned 70. The decree said he was honoured for his outstanding contribution to the development of allied relations and strategic partnership between the two countries and the strengthening of friendship between the two brotherly nations, as well as for his personal contribution to the effective functioning of the Russia-Belarus union state.
Kremlin official He toldthat the bilateral Russian-Belarusian meeting took place "in the framework of the CIS summit", which took place on 8 October in Moscow. It will also follow the informal CIS summit held in the Kremlin a day earlier.
Putin and Lukashenko have a strong friendship, the Kremlin said. The two leaders meet frequently and speak on the phone regularly. Both excel in protecting the interests of their countries, which allows them to protect the interests of the union state as well, a spokesman for the Russian president noted Dmitry Peskov. Wednesday's meeting was their eighth in 2024.
The Russian leader congratulated Lukashenko on his birthday on 30 August and said his good, friendly relations with Lukashenko have stood the test of time. "And, of course, I am convinced that we will continue our efforts to strengthen the fruitful cooperation between Russia and Belarus," added the Russian leader.
TASS/ gnews.cz-jav, RoZ
PHOTO - TASS/ Alexander Shcherbak
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