Russia, Belarus discuss closer military, economic ties

By VLADIMIR ISACHENKOV
Associated Press

MOSCOW (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin is hosting neighboring ally Belarus’ leader for talks on expanding military and economic cooperation amid the fighting in Ukraine. Russia has used Belarusian territory to send troops into Ukraine when it launched what the Kremlin calls its “special military operation” nearly a year ago. Russia has maintained troops and warplanes in Belarus and the two countries have regularly conducted joint drills as part of their military alliance. Speaking at the start of Friday’s talks with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, Putin said they proposed to discuss military cooperation and ways to further bolster economic ties. Lukashenko said Belarus could start manufacturing Soviet-designed warplanes with Russian assistance.