Russia throws $1.5b credit lifeline to ally Belarus
Russian President Vladimir Putin pledged a $1.5 billion loan to Belarus during a meeting with his Belarusian counterpart Alexander Lukashenko on Monday.
The meeting at a Black Sea resort in the southern Russian city of Sochi was the two leaders' first face-to-face talks since Lukashenko won a sixth term in a presidential election last month.
Putin said he hopes constitutional reforms planned by Lukashenko will help settle the crisis in Belarus.