Russian President Vladimir Putin hosted a meeting Friday with his Belarusian ally, who suggested that Minsk could could join Moscow’s efforts to revive an old alliance with Pyongyang after this week’s summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko made the proposal as he met with Putin in the Black Sea resort of Sochi, where the Russian leader said he would brief him about the talks with Kim on Wednesday at the Vostochny spaceport in Russia’s Far East.
“I would like to inform you about the discussion on the situation in the region, which was quite important, and also to touch on the most acute issue, the situation in Ukraine,” Putin said at the start of the meeting.
Lukashenko responded by saying that “we could think about three-way cooperation,” adding that “I think a bit of work could be found for Belarus to do there as well.”
Kim on Friday continued his trip by visiting an aircraft factory in Komsomolsk-on-Amur to see the latest Russian fighter jets. On Saturday, he is scheduled to arrive in Russia’s port of Vladivostok where he is expected to see Russian Pacific Fleet warships and visit a university.
