Russian, Belarusian presidents to discuss two nations' union

Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Belarusian counterpart Alexander Lukashenko were due to meet in St. Petersburg on Tuesday to discuss the long-planned political and economic union between their two former Soviet republics. Lukashenko said that Tuesday's meeting of the Russian-Belarusian Supreme State Council should result in "concrete decisions" on social policies including pensions and taxes, and that it should focus on the constitution, which is almost ready, the ITAR-Tass news agency reported.

The Russia-Belarus union has remained largely on the drawing-board despite regular summits. But shared concern over the "color revolutions" that brought Western-leaning leaders to power in Ukraine and Georgia has brought Russia and Belarus closer together recently.

Lukashenko, dubbed "Europe's last dictator" in the West, stands for re-election in March and has vowed that there will be no revolution, reports the AP. N.U.