Putin says it's important to deepen ties between Russia and Belarus

Russian President Vladimir Putin left Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko centre and Russian Roscosmos head Dmitry Rogozin walk after arriving at the Vostochny cosmodrome outside the city of Tsiolkovsky, about 200 kilometers 125 miles from the city of Blagoveshchensk in the far eastern Amur region of Tsiolkovsky, Russia on April 12, 2022. MIKHAIL KLIMENTYEV, SPUTNIK, VLADIVOSTOK KIEV -- Russian President Vladimir Putin said Tuesday at a joint press conference that it was important to deepen integration between Russia and Belarus in the face of Western sanctions.

Putin said that we will continue to oppose any attempts to slow down the development of our countries or artificially isolate them from the global economy.

Belarus is Russia's biggest trade partner. Bilateral trade reached $380 million by the end of 2021, an increase of more than 33 percent year-on-year.

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Putin said that the Belarusian platform is suitable for negotiations between Moscow and Kiev, and that it has become possible to start a direct dialogue with Ukraine thanks to the personal efforts of Lukashenko.

Putin said Russia's task was to achieve all its goals and minimize losses on the special operation in Ukraine. According to the plan that was originally proposed by the General Staff, the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation would act rhythmically, calmly. Putin said that no one could shut down all the doors and windows of Russia, and that no country could maintain complete dominance since the world was more complicated than it was in the Cold War.

Putin and Lukashenko met at the Vostochny spaceport before the press conference, and agreed to step up bilateral cooperation in the space sector. As early as 2023, the first flight of a Belarusian astronaut could take place, according to Putin.

The two presidents discussed the formation of a unified defense space and the protection of their western borders during their talks.

The head of the Ukrainian delegation David Arakhamia said Tuesday that Ukraine's negotiating position remains unchanged at the peace talks with Russia.

The Ukrainian side adheres to the Istanbul Communique and hasn't changed its position, Arakhamia wrote on Telegram.

The Ukrainian side does not take into account all the additional issues that were not included in the Istanbul Communique. He said that this may have led to a misinterpretation of the current state of the negotiation process.

Arakhamia said that the negotiations regarding the security guarantees for Ukraine continue in an online regime.

Putin said earlier in the day that Ukraine had changed its position from last month's peace talks in Turkey's Istanbul.