Alyaksandr Lukashenka met with Dmitry Rogozin, Russia's deputy prime minister, in Minsk on Tuesday, saying that Belarus expected to be supplied with more Russian weapons and other military equipment.
Mr. Lukashenka said that he discussed the matter at a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in September.
"I would like to discuss with you the set of these issues, which can of course be solved, with consideration for the strategy of our cooperation, with consideration for what we have as of today as far as it concerns cooperation and mutual deliveries," the presidential press office quoted Mr. Lukashenka as saying.
"What matters most is that we would like very much specific decisions to be made on specific issues, so that we know what to do in the future," he added.
Mr. Lukashenka invited the Russian vice premier to familiarize himself with the capabilities of the Belarusian defense industry. The Belarusian leader said that the industry worked for the benefit of both Belarus and Russia, which he said "have a practically common army.""You know well what is taking place in the world and the threats that exist," he was quoted as saying.
Mr. Rogozin expressed a high opinion of bilateral relations in the sphere and emphasized the importance of combining the "intellectual potentials" of the two countries' defense industries.
The vice premier referred to Russia's ongoing massive military modernization effort, which he said is aimed at boosting the country's defense capability and encouraging industrial growth. "Our only defense is a powerful industrial potential, functioning factories, new jobs. And in this cause we see great reserves for cooperation between the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus," Mr. Rogozin was quoted as saying.
