After Daylong Talks With Putin, Lukashenko Arrives in Beijing to Meet Xi Jinping

Chinese President Xi Jinping met with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko on June 29 at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing. China Central Television reported the meeting. The Belarusian leader arrived in Beijing immediately after a visit to Russia, where he spent more than a day talking with Vladimir Putin.

Lukashenko flew to Russia on June 26 and held closed-door talks with Putin at the Valdai residence, where the Russian president rarely receives foreign leaders. The visit became known only after Lukashenko’s plane headed for Russia. There was no public portion, the leaders made no statements to the press, and no joint documents were signed.

The Kremlin said Putin and Lukashenko discussed one-on-one issues related to the Union State, trade and economic cooperation, the implementation of joint projects and security in the region. The conversation, which began on June 26, continued the following day. In an interview, Putin called the meeting successful and substantive.

The visit to Valdai took place amid sharp statements from Kyiv toward Minsk. The day before, Lukashenko said he had met in Minsk with representatives of Zelensky, and that the sides had confirmed the inadmissibility of drawing Belarus into the conflict. Putin said he and Lukashenko had discussed Zelensky’s recent threats to attack Belarus, noting that the Belarusian leader was reacting to this calmly and without panic.

In Beijing, Xi Jinping and Lukashenko discussed bilateral cooperation in various areas, the implementation of joint projects, as well as the international situation and the situation in the region.