Belarus and Russia have reached a full understanding on all key issues

June 1, Minsk /BELTA/. Belarus and Russia have reached a full mutual understanding on all key issues of the bilateral agenda and confirmed their mutual desire for further fruitful development of relations in various spheres. This was the main outcome of the talks between the presidents of the two countries, Alexander Lukashenko and Vladimir Putin, who visited Belarus on an official two-day visit on May 31, BELTA was informed by the press service of the Belarusian leader. Alexander Lukashenko met his Russian counterpart at the aircraft ramp. The leaders of the two countries exchanged warm greetings and after the official ceremony at the airport, they headed for talks at the "Zaslavl" residence in one car, using the travel time for informal communication. During the narrow-format talks, the head of the Belarusian state noted good prospects for further development of cooperation between Belarus and Russia. It was particularly emphasized that the current meeting was held on the eve of the 20th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries. "I want to thank you and the Russian leadership for everything we have done, especially in recent years. We have results in both politics and economics," said the President of Belarus. According to him, the main result of cooperation in politics is the creation of the Union State, where the parties have achieved significant progress in all areas. "We have no border between the two countries, our people move freely, have equal rights, both Russians in Belarus and Belarusians in Russia, we have a common defense space, joint air defense forces, a union grouping in the western direction, and much more. We have achieved certain results in all areas," stated Alexander Lukashenko. The President of Belarus believes that it is necessary to continue to act in this direction, strengthening and promoting the Union State project. The head of the Belarusian state also noted great success in economic integration. "We have created a Customs Union and a Single Economic Space. That is, we have transferred our experience (of integration on a bilateral basis) to a wider range of states. They are looking at us today," he said. In this regard, Alexander Lukashenko mentioned Ukraine, which shows interest in cooperation with the SES: "So far, they are talking about some exclusions and restrictions, but still, there is an attraction to this pole." "We have done a lot over these two decades, and I think we have good years ahead of us. I am confident that the Russian Federation will develop and strengthen the Eurasian space vector. We are ready for this," added Alexander Lukashenko. In turn, Vladimir Putin said: "This is my first trip outside the Russian Federation after taking office as President. This is natural, given that Belarus is not just a close, but a special partner for us." The President of Russia noted the success of the two countries in developing trade and economic cooperation. In particular, he stated that according to the results of 2011, the growth of mutual trade turnover was about 40%, reaching almost $40 billion. Positive dynamics are also maintained this year. "This is a clear indication of the right choice in favor of integration," emphasized the head of the Russian state. Vladimir Putin expressed gratitude to Alexander Lukashenko for his active support of integration processes in the post-Soviet space, expressing his readiness to discuss the entire range of current issues on the agenda of the two states. During the talks, the presidents reached a full mutual understanding on problematic issues in the relations between Belarus and Russia, Alexander Lukashenko stated before the start of the expanded talks with the participation of delegation members. "We have just discussed a number of problems one-on-one. We have found a full mutual understanding on these problems. We have no closed topics," emphasized the President of Belarus. "We are united as never before not only in politics and economics but also in military-technical cooperation, and we will build our relations for the benefit of our peoples, without threatening, hindering, or creating problems for anyone." Alexander Lukashenko assured his Russian counterpart that Belarus is Russia's closest and most loyal ally: "It has been so, it is so, and it will always be so. We will consistently advocate for the development of the closest friendly relations with our main strategic partner, the Russian Federation. This fully corresponds to the will of the peoples of our states." "We have come a long way in building bilateral relations and have achieved exceptional results in this regard. Today we can state that there is no more advanced integration in the post-Soviet space than the Union State. Millions of people have received real benefits from this," emphasized the President of Belarus. According to him, the groundwork within the Union State has become the foundation for the formation of the Customs Union and the Single Economic Space. Noting the significant growth in mutual trade turnover, Alexander Lukashenko remarked that in modern conditions, it is necessary not only to ensure further growth in trade volumes but also to create joint ventures and holdings. "We need to stop competing with each other, at least within the Customs Union, and jointly enter the markets of third countries. We are ready for this," he said. Separately, the head of the Belarusian state thanked the Russian side for its support in the construction of a nuclear power plant in Belarus. "I think we need to step up our efforts to build the most modern, best, and most beautiful power plant in the world. Here, in the center of Europe," noted Alexander Lukashenko. The President of Belarus is confident that by joining forces, Belarus and Russia will be able to not only build a nuclear power plant but also solve many other issues. According to tradition, the presidents agreed to personally oversee all the most serious and breakthrough areas in bilateral cooperation. Vladimir Putin said that during the narrow-format meeting, the parties discussed, in particular, the issue of expanding cargo transshipment through Russian Baltic ports. He emphasized that much has been done by both countries in economic cooperation, and this has a positive impact not only on the Belarusian but also on the Russian economy. According to the head of the Russian state, the total amount of support that Belarus has received through mutually beneficial cooperation with Russia over the past few years has been approximately $5 billion. "We have a very high level of cooperation, and this positively affects the development of the Russian economy," stated the President of Russia. "I must say that we see what difficult, but absolutely correct decisions the leadership of Belarus and the economic bloc of the government are making to normalize the situation in the economy," noted Vladimir Putin. "Of course, we proceed from the fact that the results that are currently in the Belarusian economy will be more significant in the near future." At the same time, the head of the Russian state noted that "these are difficult, sometimes painful decisions, but they must be made." "We see what is happening in some European countries that did not take timely steps, and now they are going through hard times. Of course, we wish them success in restoring their economies," he added. Vladimir Putin also noted that the political dialogue between Belarus and Russia is developing at the highest level, as evidenced by active contacts in this area. Alexander Lukashenko and Vladimir Putin also demonstrated unity of views in their statements to the media following the talks, during which, according to the President of Belarus, specific issues in bilateral relations were discussed, including in economics, politics, and defense. "We have gathered to make the lives of our people better, without creating problems for anyone. We want to live only at our own expense, both Russia and Belarus, without creating problems for other states. And in this context, we discussed all issues – from tariffs to projects for creating joint Belarusian-Russian enterprises and holdings within the Single Economic Space," said the head of the Belarusian state. "The trusting dialogue that has been established and is maintained by our sides allows us to achieve significant results across the entire agenda of our cooperation," noted the President of Belarus. One of the main topics at the talks was the development of integration in the SES with the prospect of forming the Eurasian Economic Union on its basis. "There are no disagreements between Belarus and Russia here. It seems to me that the creation of the Eurasian Union is a matter of time that will be resolved in the near future," believes Alexander Lukashenko. Belarus also advocates for the idea of "integration of integrations," which involves creating a common economic space from Lisbon to Vladivostok on the platform of the European Union and the SES. "I think, given the processes that have been happening recently, this goal that we have set for ourselves is not so far away," noted the head of the Belarusian state. Alexander Lukashenko emphasized the special importance and significance of Vladimir Putin's visit to Belarus. "This visit is more important than many economic agreements of Belarus with Russia, as well as with other states. It is a signal that we have a great future. As for Belarus, we will worthily go through this path," said Alexander Lukashenko. According to the President of Russia, the meeting was business-like, concrete, and substantive: "It was extremely frank, we spoke as colleagues, as friends, comrades, on all issues, problems that concern both Belarus and Russia in the context of our integration efforts and on a bilateral level." "The very fact of my first foreign visit to fraternal Belarus undoubtedly reflects the special nature of our relations. Our meeting with Alexander Grigoryevich once again proved our mutual readiness to develop and fill our relations with new content," emphasized Vladimir Putin. During the talks, the prospects of economic ties were discussed in detail. Thus, a decision was made to allocate the next, third tranche of the loan from the Eurasian Crisis Fund to Belarus, and negotiations will begin on allocating the fourth tranche. "We noted with satisfaction that this is timely, expedient, and possible to do, given the positive dynamics that the Belarusian economy is gaining. And the trade volumes also speak about this," noted the President of Russia. Significant returns are expected from the implementation of joint projects in the fields of energy, mechanical engineering, and advanced technologies. In this context, special importance is attached to the project for the construction of the Belarusian NPP, which has every chance of becoming the largest and most modern project in the history of bilateral relations. Alexander Lukashenko and Vladimir Putin also considered promising areas of investment cooperation and discussed the creation of the "RosBelAvto" holding based on the assets of KAMAZ and MAZ. "I am confident that if we reach an agreement, it will be a very good example for other sectors of the real economy," noted Vladimir Putin. Significant attention was paid to cooperation in regional associations within the CIS in light of the jubilee sessions of the CSTO Collective Security Council and the CIS informal summit held in Moscow two weeks ago. "I am convinced that Russian-Belarusian relations have a great future," emphasized the President of Russia. "As integration processes deepen, the unity of our countries will only strengthen, opening up opportunities for solving long-term and current tasks." The talks also resulted in the adoption of a joint statement by the presidents of Belarus and Russia, in which they noted the strategic nature of the relations between the two countries and the mutual desire to strengthen long-term mutually beneficial cooperation in various spheres. Vladimir Putin expressed his gratitude to Alexander Lukashenko and the Belarusian people for the warm welcome and hospitality and invited the President of Belarus to visit the Russian Federation on an official visit at his convenience. In the evening of May 31, an official dinner was held in honor of the President of Russia Vladimir Putin, hosted by Alexander Lukashenko. At the dinner, the heads of state continued to discuss important issues of the bilateral and international agenda.-0-