Lukashenko and Putin to hold bilateral meeting in Moscow on October 9

The Presidents of Belarus and Russia, Alexander Lukashenko and Vladimir Putin, will hold a bilateral meeting in Moscow on October 9, BELTA reports.

The heads of state are expected to discuss current issues of further development of Russian-Belarusian relations of strategic cooperation and alliance with an emphasis on integration interaction within the Union State.

As previously reported by the press service of the President of Russia, a solemn ceremony will be held to present the President of Belarus with the highest state award of the Russian Federation, the Order of St. Andrew the First-Called.

The Order of St. Andrew the First-Called is the highest state order of the Russian Federation (the first order and the highest award in the Russian Empire). The award was established at the end of the 17th century by Peter I in honor of the Apostle Andrew the First-Called. In total, more than 1,000 people received the award before 1917.

After the October Revolution, the order, like all other awards of the Russian Empire, was abolished. But in 1998, by decree of the President of Russia, it was restored as the highest state award. According to the statute, it can be awarded to outstanding government, public figures and other citizens of the Russian Federation for "exceptional services contributing to the prosperity, greatness and glory of Russia", as well as heads and leaders of governments of foreign countries for "outstanding services to the Russian Federation". Since 1998, 26 people have been awarded the order. Among them are Chairman of the People's Republic of China Xi Jinping, Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi, and the current former leaders of Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan Heydar Aliyev and Nursultan Nazarbayev.