25 December 2006
Lukashenko, Putin have telephone conversation to discuss problems in Belarusian-Russia relations

Aleksandr Lukashenko and Vladimir Putin had a telephone conversation on the evening of December 23, according to the press office of the Russian president.

The leaders of Belarus and Russia reportedly continued the discussion of issues that had been under discussion during a face-to-face meeting and a session of the Supreme State Council of the Belarusian-Russian Union State held in Moscow not long before.

The press office notes that the telephone conversation was initiated by Mr. Lukashenko.

The press office of the Belarusian leader reported nothing on the conversation.

Following his face-to-face meeting with the Russian president in Moscow on December 15, Mr. Lukashenko said that problems in Belarusian-Russian integration, including those concerning the adoption of the Union State's Constitutional Act and the introduction of a common currency in the Union State, might soon be solved.

"We had planned to factor out the Constitutional Act, the single currency and a number of other matters that are much talked and written about," he said. "But as the result of our lengthy and difficult talks [with Putin], we seem to have found the clue that we can grasp. I guess we'll soon manage to remove very many problems that were so hard for us. That's why today's talks lasted so long [almost three hours]." //BelaPAN