Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday called the talks with his Belarusian counterpart Alexander Lukashenko at the Vostochny Cosmodrome "important and symbolic". 

Moscow would counter attempts to isolate Russia and Belarus and stressed the need to deepen integration between the countries in light of Western sanctions, Putin told a press conference.

He said the first flight of a Belarusian cosmonaut may take place as early as 2023.

Putin and Lukashenko met for nearly three hours on Tuesday.

(With input from Reuters)