 Lukashenko opposed Putin's request. The independence of Belarus is never discussed at negotiations with the Russian leadership, and the bilateral-allied relations are inviolable. Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said, I can see tensions rising, especially after these large-scale negotiations, everyone will be saying there is no authority in Belarus and Russians are walking around and governing this country. I would like to underline the specific feature. No one else but us is governing Belarus. There are, are functions, mine included, by constitution. We are exercising these functions. The Belarusian presidential press service quoted Lukashenko as saying at a meeting on Belarusian-Russian cooperation in Minsk. Many people here start whispering whenever an attempt to reach agreement fails that Russia is setting unacceptable conditions related to our independence and sovereignty. I will be completely frank, despite all the difficulties if the Russian Federation, its leadership, want to build relations with the sovereign independent state of Belarus, if Russia sees us as a sovereign independent nation, but a very close, very reliable one, where everything Russian from the language to Russian traditions is cherished, we will be ready to foster relations. However, we should always remember that we are a sovereign independent state, Lukashenko said. The Belarusian-Russian integration programs do not affect the independent and sovereignty of either Belarus or Russia, Lukashenko said. I think that Belarus would stay true to its allied obligations. We will never be Russia's enemy, we will never take a dim view of Russia either. This is the country closest to us, the closest people. I believe that as long as you and I are in office, we will stick to this trend, or else things would have been as they are in Ukraine. So the sovereignty and independence are inviolable. Any other talk here or there is a betrayal of the interests of the Belarusian people, Lukashenko said. Yes, we stay together with Russia as a sovereign independent state, I am saying so with confidence, because I am aware of the stance of the Russian president. We never discussed this issue. We said so once and for all, and we agreed on our actions by signing those 28 programs. None of those programs encroach on our sovereignty and independence, he said. As reported earlier, the presidents of Russia and Belarus will meet in Minsk on December 19, in an expanded format involving government members, as well as one-on-one. The presidents are planning to discuss the entire range of topical aspects of the Belarusian-Russian integration, primarily import substitution projects, energy cooperation and security. The presidents will make statements and answer journalists' questions after the negotiations.