Russian and Belarusian presidents to meet

Russian President Vladimir Putin will meet with his Belarusian counterpart Alexander Lukashenko in St. Petersburg on Dec 20.

The two heads of state met in Sochi, Russia on Dec 7, during which "a lot of progress has been made, even on oil and gas," according to Russian Economy Minister Maxim Oreshkin.

Putin on Sunday praised the progress on the road to Russia-Belarus integration and cooperation in a message of greetings to Lukashenko as the neighboring countries marked the 20th anniversary of the Treaty on the Creation of a Union State of Russia and Belarus.