Russia, Belarus to sign landmark security pact, Russian news agency says

3/12/2024 13:20

        Russia's President Vladimir Putin and his Belarusian counterpart, Alexander Lukashenko, will sign a landmark security pact on Friday that reflects global geopolitical changes, Russian state news agency RIA said on Tuesday.
        
        The agreement will be among the documents the leaders are set to sign in Minsk, the capital of Belarus, on the 25th anniversary of the Union State, a borderless union and alliance between the two former Soviet republics and neighbours.
        
        The agency quoted Belarusian Deputy Foreign Minister Igor Nazaruk as saying, "We are covering the topics of state, public, economic security, talking about ensuring stability in the development of our economies."
        
        He added, "It is designed to take into account the changed external conditions, when the world is moving to a polycentric world order," describing what he called a "landmark" agreement.
        
        The agency gave no further details of the pact.
        
        As president, Lukashenko has kept Belarus in a firm authoritative grip for the past three decades, and been a loyal ally of Putin, allowing his territory to be used as a launch pad for Moscow's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.