Russian President Vladimir Putin mentioned Sunday that Kyiv’s counteroffensive had “failed,” as he started two-day talks together with his Belarus counterpart and closest ally Alexander Lukashenko.
The longtime leaders met for the primary time since Lukashenko helped finish a mutiny by Russian Wagner mercenaries in Russia final month.
“There is no counteroffensive,” Lukashenko mentioned, earlier than being interrupted by Putin: “There is one, but it has failed.”
The pair met in Putin’s native St. Petersburg, hours after the Russian military had struck Ukraine’s Black Sea port of Odesa.
In an indication of the significance of the assembly, Putin mentioned he had “changed some of my plans” in order that talks with Lukashenko may final two days.
The Russian chief mentioned the pair would talk about “security in our region.”
The Belarus strongman now hosts Wagner fighters on his territory, after brokering a deal that satisfied its chief Yevgeny Prigozhin to finish a march on Moscow and exile himself to Belarus.
Lukashenko mentioned Minsk was “controlling” the state of affairs with the infamous Wagner fighters, and limiting them to staying within the heart of the reclusive nation.
Wagner’s presence in Belarus has rattled EU and NATO member Poland, which has strengthened its border.
Both Putin and Lukashenko accused Warsaw of getting territorial ambitions on Ukraine and Belarus, with the Belarusian strongman issuing a veiled risk.
“They are asking to go West, ask me for permission … to go on a trip to Warsaw, to Rzeszow,” Lukashenko mentioned, referring to Wagner fighters, to Putin, who smiled. “But of course, I am keeping them in central Belarus, like we agreed.”
“We are controlling what is happening (with Wagner),” he mentioned, including: “They are in a bad mood.”
He thanked Putin for vowing to defend Belarus ought to or not it’s attacked.
The feedback got here two days after Putin mentioned western Poland was a present from Stalin.
Lukashenko accused Poland of making an attempt to “rip off a western chunk” of Ukraine.
He additionally accused Poland of bringing mercenaries to the border, saying he had “brought him a map of moving armed forces of Poland to the borders of the union state.”
The feedback got here after Warsaw summoned the Russian ambassador over Putin’s Poland remarks.
After their talks, Putin and Lukashenko greeted crowds within the naval city and base of Kronstadt on Kotlin Island in a uncommon walkabout.
Russia’s Kommersant newspaper posted a video of Putin and Lukashenko posing for images with folks, with bodyguards standing close by.
Asked about quarantine guidelines which the Russian chief has been maintaining strictly for the reason that pandemic, Putin replied: “People are more important than quarantine.”
Several days after Wagner had ended its mutiny final month, Putin met with adoring crowds in Dagestan in an obvious present of recognition.
Source: www.dailysabah.com
