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Nearly all pressing issues concerning relations between Belarus and Russia have been added to the agenda of the Union State’s Supreme State Council, Alyaksandr Lukashenka said during a meeting with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev in Moscow on February 3.
The Belarusian and Russian leaders met face-to-face before taking part in the Council’s session on the same day.
Mr. Lukashenka expressed certainty that Minsk and Moscow were able to reach progress in all spheres of bilateral relations.
“We are full of resolution to make important decisions in the economic, military and technical, and financial spheres, on granting the Russian ruble the status of regional currency,” the BelTA government news agency quoted him as saying.
Mr. Lukashenka noted that Belarus and Russia shared many problems amid the global economic downturn.
The Russian president, for his part, said that progress had been achieved in bilateral cooperation thanks to a number of “responsible decisions” made by him and the Belarusian counterpart. “The decisions discussed by us and in fact agreed upon previously will be made today,” Russia’s RIA Novosti news agency quoted him as saying.
Mr. Medvedev described a five-year gas price agreement between Belarus and Russia as “the firm basis of energy cooperation.” “This is an important component of relations, considering the gas problem that we had at the beginning of the year with Ukraine,” he said.
“We have the determination to move forward regarding the issue of ensuring mutual security, including as far as it concerns air defense. We have a number of other serious intentions, which, hopefully, will be materialized today,” Mr. Medvedev said.
Mr. Lukashenka noted that “much will depend on decisions on the issues included on the Supreme State Council’s agenda.” //BelaPAN