The Presidents of Belarus and Russia have a strong political will to expand bilateral ties - V. Matviyenko

June 5, Minsk / Vladimir Matveev - BELTA /. Presidents of Belarus and Russia Alexander Lukashenko and Vladimir Putin have a strong political will and a desire to expand bilateral ties. This opinion was expressed today to journalists by the Chairperson of the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of Russia Valentina Matvienko following a meeting with the head of the Belarusian state Alexander Lukashenko, BELTA correspondent reports. As Valentina Matvienko noted, a very thorough conversation on a wide range of issues took place at the meeting with the President of Belarus. The parties exchanged views on the state of Belarusian-Russian relations, the results of the visit of the head of the Russian state, the strategy and prospects for further cooperation and development of integration associations, and issues and trends in world politics. "I am convinced once again following all the negotiations and the meeting with the President of Belarus: the leaders of our states have a strong political will, a desire to deepen and expand the ties between Russia and Belarus. This is the most important key moment that should make us all happy," the Chairperson of the Federation Council emphasized. "There is an understanding of the path to follow, the speed, and how to make our integration association attractive to other states." In addition, an exchange of views took place in the field of humanitarian ties, education, and culture. "There is a huge field for cooperation here," Valentina Matvienko noted. In her opinion, in terms of developing interaction in the fields of innovation and high technologies, it is necessary to change the regulatory framework to create more favorable conditions. "Because today, there can be no Russian venture financing of scientific developments in Belarus, we do not have regulatory acts on the distribution of intellectual property, patent protection, and much more that hinders our cooperation. We have accumulated a lot of such knots. They are small, but they need to be untied to give freedom to the development of cooperation in various fields," said the Chairperson of the Federation Council. "It was a very deep, interesting, and meaningful conversation, and I am convinced of how much of a patriot of his country the President of Belarus is. He is a person who loves his people and uses all opportunities for the country's development. This is very important," Valentina Matvienko noted. "I think that much of what we discussed needs to be put on the working agenda, discussed, and the working issues that exist in the relations should be resolved," added the Chairperson of the Federation Council. -0-