Belarusian leader presents tractor vouchers on Putin’s 70th birthday

Vladimir Putin received an unusual 70th birthday gift on Friday — a tractor voucher from the president of Belarus.

Aleksandr Lukashenko presented the Russian president with a vehicle certificate when the leaders of several ex-Soviet states met at the tsar-era Konstantin Palace in St. Petersburg.

Tractors have been the pride of Belarusian industry since Soviet times.

The authoritarian leader, Mr. Lukashenko, who ruled the former Soviet country with an iron fist for nearly 30 years while cultivating the image of the people, told reporters that he had a model in his garden, resembling a tractor, that he gave to Mr. Putin.

Mr Putin did not mention the gift in a televised address at the start of the meeting, when he spoke of the need to discuss ways to resolve the conflict between the former Soviet states.

He also stressed the need to exchange information to fight terrorism, illegal drugs and other crimes.

Leaders of the Commonwealth of Independent States, a loose alliance of former Soviet states, will hold another rally next week in the Kazakhstan capital, Astana.