Russia Belarus Summit Meeting Begins September 15th, 0:03
The first summit meeting has begun, in which Russian President Vladimir Putin and Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko meet in person to discuss the ongoing tension in Belarus.
In Belarus, Lukashenko's administration has stepped up its approach to Russia, which is backed by a large-scale protest by rebels who said the result of last month's presidential election was fraudulent for more than five weeks.
President Lukashenko visited Sochi in southern Russia on the 14th, and the first face-to-face meeting with President Putin began before 9 pm on the 14th of Japan time since a series of protests began.
Russia and Belarus signed a treaty on the creation of a coalition in 1999 and have been discussing the integration of economic and security fields, but President Lukashenko has been cautious as "a threat to sovereignty." No significant progress has been made so far.
For this reason, Putin is expected to have in-depth discussions at this meeting with the aim of considering future responses to protests and paving the way for the integration of Russia and Belarus.