Putin: question to Minsk on recognition of South Ossetia and Abkhazia is fair

The Russian Prime Minister made a loud statement a day before an informal meeting of Alyaksandr Lukashenka and Dmitry Medvedev.

Vladimir Putin made public one of the items of the agenda, to which Lukashenka will have to give a clear answer – recognition of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, AFN reports.

We remind that Lukashenka promised to consider this issue a year ago.

After a meeting with head of South Ossetia Eduard Kokoity, Putin said he though a question to the Bealrusain leadership on recognition South Ossetia and Abkhazia was “fair”, PRIME-TASS reports.

Putin noted that the issue should be settled only be the Belarusian authorities. according to him, Russia “never nudged and asked anyone” to recognize independence of the two “republics”.

However, Putin reminds that Russia and Belarus build a “union state”; moreover, Russia has been rendering economic and political support to Belarus for many years.