KIEV. February 22. UNN. The presidents of Russia and Belarus, Vladimir Putin and Alexander Lukashenko, held talks in Sochi on February 22. Politicians discussed, in particular, economic issues and the situation with the coronavirus, reports UNN with reference to the federal Russian and Belarusian media.
Interaction between Moscow and Minsk
Putin said that the instruments of cooperation that exist between Russia and Belarus are well established and working well. Lukashenko expressed hope for face-to-face talks with the Russian president in the future. This format of communication between heads of state is “really rare,” he said. According to the President of Belarus, the informal atmosphere and clothing of the two leaders during the talks “emphasize the special nature of relations” between the two countries. “These are serious negotiations in ordinary clothes,” he said.
Economic issues
Lukashenko thanked his counterpart for helping the Belarusian economy. He also noted the high trade turnover between the countries. “Of Belarus’ $ 70 billion in GDP, we are … at least half of Russia’s trade,” he said.
The Belarusian leader stated that his country buys “a huge amount of raw materials and components” from Russia, and this volume is “constantly growing.” If Russia and Belarus implement the planned projects, imports from Russia will increase significantly, Lukashenko said.
According to Lukashenko, the governments of Belarus and Russia have to finalize six or seven road integration maps with 33 agreements.
The situation with COVID-19
Putin said Russia would deliver new batches of the coronavirus vaccine to Belarus in February and March. He added that Russia had also transferred the technology of drug production to Minsk, noting that Russia no longer “works so closely with anyone.”
Lukashenko hopes that the Belarusian coronavirus vaccine will appear in the country by autumn. According to the politician, in Belarus “the incidence of COVID-19” began to decline sharply.
It should be noted that according to WHO statistics – in the Russian Federation 4,177,330 cases of COVID-19, 83,630 people died. In the Republic of Belarus – 278,312 cases, 1,912 people died.
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