Russian, Belarusian presidents meet ahead of security summit near Moscow

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday met with his Belarusian counterpart Aleksandr Lukashenko near Moscow ahead of a summit of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO).

The meeting took place at the Novo-Ogaryovo residence in the Moscow region.

Putin said the leaders would discuss bilateral relations, including economic, humanitarian and security cooperation, during the summit.

He praised the strong trade ties between the two countries, saying cooperation was progressing at a good pace, particularly in investment and high technology.

"Everything is developing, and at a good pace. We have an astonishing volume of trade-truly astonishing; there's no other way to put it. Issues related to investments and high technologies are being addressed, which I find very gratifying," Putin said.

He also thanked Lukashenko for supporting humanitarian exchanges involving Ukraine, saying Moscow highly valued Minsk's assistance in organizing them.

Lukashenko said bilateral trade had increased by more than 21% this year.

He also thanked Moscow for providing Belarus with modern weapons and military support, saying the Belarusian armed forces have gained experience and strengthened their combat readiness.

Lukashenko said Belarusian military units stationed along the country's western border remained prepared to defend the country but had not been deployed to the conflict zone in Ukraine.