Lukashenko: attempts of the West to strangle Belarus and Russia failed
The President of Belarus has met today with the Russian Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov, who arrived in Minsk last night to participate in a joint meeting of the boards of the Belarusian and Russian foreign ministries
Welcoming the guest at the Palace of Independence, Aleksandr Lukashenko said, “I think we have issues that need discussion not only within the framework of today's joint meeting of our boards. You know my attitude towards you. I never hide anything from you, and this is very important. Consultations on some matters are also needed, so I propose to discuss the main issues and then focus on some topical matters face-to-face. This is not because we are hiding something. Absolutely not. There are actually issues beyond the scope of our official events today.”
The Head of State noted that he is well acquainted with the results of the past year in Russia, “We have approximately the same results. It is very good that we have reached a balance of trade – and even slightly higher – in our trade and economic relations with the Russian Federation. The balance is in favour of Belarus, and this indicates that attempts to strangle us – both Russia and Belarus – have actually failed. We will definitely stand ground.”
Aleksandr Lukashenko also drew attention to the exemplary co-operation between the two states’ foreign ministries, “If all our departments liaised in such a way as the foreign ministries, we would not have any problematic issues at all. I have always said that, not just now.”
