News & Events in Belarus

Lukashenko’s working visit to Russia continues with informal meeting of CIS leaders in Hermitage

ST. PETERSBURG, 22 December (BelTA) – The working visit of Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko to Russia continued with an informal meeting of the heads of state of the Commonwealth of Independent States in St. Petersburg, BelTA has learned.

The CIS leaders met at the Hermitage. It is one of the world’s largest museums, housing over 3 million cultural artifacts from various countries and nations. The collection includes paintings and graphics, sculptures, coins and medals, and archaeological materials. The Hermitage’s exhibits are displayed in more than 500 halls covering an area of approximately 100,000 square meters.

The main Hermitage complex comprises five buildings: the Winter Palace, the Small Hermitage, the Old (Large) Hermitage, the New Hermitage, and the Hermitage Theater. Before the informal meeting Aleksandr Lukashenko and other leaders of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) toured the halls of the museum complex. The tour for heads of state was conducted by Mikhail Piotrovsky, Director General of the State Hermitage Museum.

Guests were shown a variety of museum exhibits, including the Peacock [Pavlin] automaton clock. It was crafted from gilded bronze and silver in the late 18th century. This is the only large 18th-century automaton in the world that has survived intact and remains fully functional. The operation of the Peacock’s mechanisms consistently awes visitors. Though the automaton is typically wound only on Fridays, an exception was made for the CIS leaders.

Another stop on the tour was the 1812 War Gallery. Its walls display 329 portraits of the generals who participated in the Patriotic War and foreign campaigns of 1813–1814.

The leaders of the CIS countries also viewed works by the Dutch painter Rembrandt van Rijn. The Hermitage features a rich collection of more than 20 paintings by this renowned artist.

During the informal meeting President of Russia Vladimir Putin opened the proceedings with a welcome address. The Russian leader noted that over more than three decades the Commonwealth had solidified its position as a respected regional integration organization, in which member states build relations on the principles of genuine good-neighborliness, equal partnership, mutual benefit, and mutual consideration of each other’s interests.

“In the outgoing year the multifaceted interaction of our countries continued to develop successfully on the whole. It is evidenced by the respectable volume of trade between Russia and Commonwealth members, which was close to $90 billion in January-October 2025,” the Russian president emphasized. “Cooperation among the CIS states in the monetary and financial sphere is expanding. Our own, independent payment instruments, which do not rely on foreign banking systems, are being used increasingly actively for processing mutual economic transactions. The share of national currencies in commercial transactions between Commonwealth countries has already surpassed 96%.”

“Apart from that, import substitution processes are progressing at a rapid pace. It further strengthens the technological sovereignty of our states. Mutual interest among member countries is on the rise in stepping up practical cooperation in manufacturing sector, science, technology, digitization, and innovation,” Vladimir Putin added.

On the whole, the Russian head of state is convinced that strengthening partnership within the framework of the Commonwealth of Independent States in various areas aligns with the fundamental interests of the nations of the Commonwealth countries: “We will continue to work toward accomplishing tasks relating to social and economic development, strengthening stability, and ensuring our common security.”

BelTA reported earlier that Aleksandr Lukashenko’s working visit to Russia began on 21 December. On that day the Belarusian leader participated in a session of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council. The Belarusian leader outlined the key priorities of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) for the upcoming five-year term and raised the matter of fulfilling previous agreements within the framework of the union, emphasizing a shared commitment to integration.

Before the G5 summit the Belarus president met with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Among other things the meeting of the leaders of the two countries mentioned bilateral relations between Minsk and Moscow, integration processes across the post-Soviet space, Aleksandr Lukashenko’s speech at the Belarusian People’s Congress, and Vladimir Putin’s direct line.

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