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Putin In Belarus To Attend European Games Closing Ceremony


Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka and Russian President Vladimir Putin speak to journalists during a meeting in the Black sea resort of Sochi in February.
Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka and Russian President Vladimir Putin speak to journalists during a meeting in the Black sea resort of Sochi in February.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has arrived in the Belarusian capital to attend the closing ceremony of the second European Games.

Tajik President Emomali Rahmon is also due to participate in the June 30 event in Minsk's Dinamo Stadium, alongside Belarusian leader Alyaksandr Lukashenka.

Lukashenka has said he didn't rule out a trilateral meeting with the presidents of Russia and Tajikistan during their visits.

The 10-day games in Minsk featured more than 3,600 athletes from 50 countries in some 200 events in 15 sports.

Russia topped in the medal table with 93 medals, followed by Belarus and Italy.

Putin flew to Minsk from the Siberian city of Bratsk, where he held talks dedicated to the floods that have hit the Irkutsk region. The Russian president earlier attended a G20 summit in Japan.

Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev represented Russia at the opening ceremony of the European Games in Minsk on June 21.

Regulated and organized by the European Olympic committees, the European Games are not related to the European Championships, a multisport event organized by the continent's sports federations.

The first edition of the games was held in Azerbaijan's capital, Baku, in 2015.

The next European Games are to be held in four years in Krakow, Poland.

Based on reporting by TASS and Interfax

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