Kremlin believes certain countries are short-sighted in refusing entry visa to Belarussian President Lukashenko

Russian President Vladimir Putin is scheduled to meet with Belarussian counterpart Alexander Lukashenko on Wednesday, November 27th, Deputy Head of the Presidential Administration Sergei Prikhodko told journalists.

According to Prikhodko, at the meeting the presidents will focus on bilateral issues, namely trade and economic cooperation between Russia and Belarus.

The Deputy Head of the Presidential Administration called a number of European countries "short-sighted" in refusing to issue an entry visa to Belarussian President Alexander Lukashenko.

The Czech Republic, followed by a number of other European nations, refused to issue an entry visa to the Belarussian President because of the alleged "mass violations of human rights" in the country and the closure of the OSCE representative office in Minsk.

Sergei Prikhodko noted that, in his opinion, the situation surrounding the refusal was "sad, regrettable and likely to have been provoked by other reasons." The Deputy Head of the Presidential Administration stressed that "the efforts to alienate somebody from participating in international cooperation, the efforts to impose any kind of sanctions, unless they are dictated by real facts, represent an attempt to preserve the situation and it has nothing to do with the constructive approach." The stance of the Russian Government, Russian Foreign Ministry and the Presidential Administration has not changed "regarding this sad and short-sighted move and all similar occasions," Sergei Prikhodko noted.