Lukashenko awarded top russian honor amid Moscow talks
On Wednesday, Aleksandr Lukashenko received the highest Russian state decoration, the Order of St. Andrew, from Vladimir Putin, awarded for merits to the Russian Federation.
The independent Belarusian portal Zerkalo.io reported the distinction, citing official media in Minsk. The order's motto reads: "For faith and fidelity." According to the portal Nasha Niva, Lukashenko kissed the order.
Previously, Belarusian state media announced that Lukashenko and Putin would hold talks in Moscow regarding "issues of further development of relations" between the two states, focusing on "integrative cooperation within the framework of the Union State" of Belarus and Russia.
On Wednesday, Nasha Niva recalled the history of this high-status decoration, reinstated in modern Russia in 1998 and modelled after the one in the Russian Empire. "The decoration has deep symbolic meaning: those awarded by Russia were the most faithful and useful servants who distinguished themselves in incorporating Belarus into the orbit of the empire," the portal emphasizes.
Much of the information provided by Russian media or government representatives is propaganda. Such reports are part of the information war conducted by the Russian Federation.
