Russian/Nat Vladimir Putin has taken his first official overseas trip, since his election as Russian President, visiting neighbouring Belarus ahead of his departure for Britain. Putin arrived on Sunday and held immediate talks with Belarus' president Alexander Lukashenko over a treaty between their two former Soviet republics. Belarus is an important starting point for Vladimir Putin's foreign policy drive, as he tries to solidify his standing among the leaders of the former Soviet enclaves. Putin and Lukashenko talked about proposals to unite the two countries' currencies and form a 300,000 strong joint troop force to guard Belarus's western border. Lukashenko and former Russian President Boris Yeltsin signed a preliminary treaty in December, but many questions remain about how it will be administered. Putin was eager to reassure the population it would benefit both regions and have little effect on outsiders. SOUNDBITE: (Russian) "Everything that concerns Russia and Belarus concerns these two countries only, the process of unification between two is not posing a threat to any third party and of course can't bring harm to any of our two countries. On the contrary, the Russian Federation at every world summit including those between Russia and the EU, is always defending the Belarus position." SUPER CAPTION: Vladimir Putin, Russian President SOUNDBITE: (Russian) "His ( Putin's ) arrival to our country is symbolic. He said so himself. It confirms that long path that we walked together first with Boris Nikolayevich ( Yeltsin) and then with Vladimir Vladimirovich (Putin) when we ratified the treaty. That path was not taken wrongly and we will continue our efforts in the same direction." SUPER CAPTION: Alexander Lukashenko, Belarus President The new head of the union's Council of Ministers, former Kremlin aide Pavel Borodin, said in Minsk that the Council's first meeting will be on April 25. It will discuss the Council's budget and structure and iron out procedural matters concerning the treaty's implementation. Putin's Belarus stopover came ahead of his planned departure for London on Sunday. In Britain, Putin will meet British Prime Minister Tony Blair and be granted an audience with Queen Elizabeth II. Some Western politicians and human rights groups have protested against Putin's visit to Britain, as Russia's offensive in Chechnya continues. Putin will complete his foreign tour with a visit to the Ukraine. You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/21a0c3a53c382e88142609a3248ddfa1 Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork
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