Kremlin press secretary Dmitry Peskov commented on Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko’s statement that Vladimir Putin allegedly apologized to him for talking about Belarus with US President Joe Biden, Kommersant reports.
According to Peskov, it was just a figure of speech and the Russian president did not apologize, but informed his Belarusian colleague.
“Putin acted very decently (after a conversation with Mr. Biden. – Kommersant), – said Mr. Lukashenko the day before (quoted by BelTA). – He called me later and apologized that he had discussed Belarus without permission.”
“You know, as a rule, discussion of third countries and leaders of third countries without informing these leaders in any way is something that is not quite accepted in international practice. Therefore, this should not be taken as an immediate apology, but it is a figure of speech, indeed. President Putin is still quite correct, and he considered it necessary to inform his Belarusian counterpart that this issue was touched upon,” Peskov told reporters during a press call.
On January 26, Vladimir Putin and Joe Biden spoke on the phone for the first time. Their meeting in Geneva is scheduled for June 16. The Presidents intend to discuss relations between the two countries and topical issues on the international agenda.
