Accessibility links

Breaking News

Belarusian, Kazakh Leaders Headed To Ukraine


Belarus's Alyaksandr Lukashenka (left) and Kazakhstan's Nursultan Nazarbaev will then travel to Moscow.
Belarus's Alyaksandr Lukashenka (left) and Kazakhstan's Nursultan Nazarbaev will then travel to Moscow.

The presidents of Belarus and Kazakhstan will visit Kyiv to meet with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko early next week.

On December 19, Belarusian leader Alyaksandr Lukashenka announced his plans to visit Kyiv on December 21.

Lukashenka said he spoke by phone with Poroshenko the previous evening "and based on that conversation I understood that Ukraine's government, in particular Ukraine's president, are in no way the obstacles to starting a new round of negotiations in Minsk."

Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbaev's press office released a statement on December 19 saying Nazarbaev would visit Ukraine on December 22 for "negotiations with the leadership" in Ukraine.

Kazakstan and Belarus are partners in a customs union with Russia, but Minsk and Astana have been increasingly discontent with the disruptions to their economies being caused by Western sanctions against Russia.

Both Lukashenka and Nazarbaev are due in Moscow on December 23 for a meeting of presidents from the Collective Security Treaty Organization.

Based on reporting by BNews.kz and Interfax

RFE/RL has been declared an "undesirable organization" by the Russian government.

If you are in Russia or the Russia-controlled parts of Ukraine and hold a Russian passport or are a stateless person residing permanently in Russia or the Russia-controlled parts of Ukraine, please note that you could face fines or imprisonment for sharing, liking, commenting on, or saving our content, or for contacting us.

To find out more, click here.

XS
SM
MD
LG