MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu arrived in Belarus on Wednesday for talks on military cooperation, the Belarusian Defence Ministry said.

The talks follow a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko in the Black Sea resort of Sochi earlier this week.

Lukashenko faces mass protests at home following a presidential election last month that demonstrators say was rigged.

(Reporting by Anton Kolodyazhnyy; Writing by Gabrielle Tétrault-Farber; Editing by Maria Kiselyova)

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