MOSCOW, 13 March (BelTA) - Belarus is ready to join ambitious national projects in Russia, Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko said at a press conference after the talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on 13 March, BelTA learned.
“We will be glad to help with new ambitious national projects,” the head of state said.
One example is cooperation in drone production, which was recently discussed together with Russian specialists in Minsk. An agreement has been reached (and approved by the Russian president) to build a plant to make unmanned aircraft systems. “We can manufacture everything. And it doesn't take much time to get things going,” Aleksandr Lukashenko noted.
“Together with the Russian president, we are thinking not only about recovery growth and import substitution, but also about advanced development. Belarus and Russia need a technological breakthrough for the future of our countries and peoples. We have everything necessary for this,” the president said.
The head of state also noted that there is a great potential for the development of cooperation in the transportation sector. “It's time to seriously consider its more efficient use. First of all, the possibilities of railroad transportation,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said.
In this regard, the head of state recalled the proposal to build a high-speed road from Moscow to Minsk or even to Brest.
Belarus and Russia, the head of state noted, are also closely cooperating to replace imports. Belarusian components and parts are used in cars and aircraft made in Russia; domestic trucks and dump trucks have successfully replaced Western analogs in quarries and on city streets. Belarusian food, footwear, and clothing are well known to buyers from Smolensk to Sakhalin.
The head of state noted that the talks with the Russian president were, as always, intensive and productive. “We have held only a third part of the scheduled talks. We will continue tomorrow, if necessary, and the day after tomorrow to think about prospects. We need to outline them. Time flies and poses many questions for us,” he said.
The parties once again reviewed the main areas of cooperation between Belarus and Russia and the Union State's priorities for the near and medium term. The parties also exchanged views on the current international situation in the global and regional context. The parties reaffirmed the relevance of the Treaty on Security Guarantees within the Union State and the Concept of Security of the Union State signed last December.
The talks also focused on the prospects of interaction within the EAEU, where Belarus is chairing this year, the CIS, the CSTO, the SCO, and BRICS in the spirit of the concept of the Greater Eurasian Partnership, or integration of integrations.
Aleksandr Lukashenko thanked his Russian counterpart for his full support for Belarus' accession to the SCO and obtaining the status of a partner in BRICS.
“We also talked about the prospects for a return to normal, civilized dialogue in international organizations on a number of topical global issues,” the head of state said.
At the same time, the presidents agreed that these sanctions were useful in some ways, in terms of the countries’ own development.
“The pressure on Belarus and Russia is not weakening. Although it is already clear to everyone that these restrictions are more harmful to the countries that introduced them,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said. “Well, they gave us an opportunity to seriously think about the prospects of our development. We made sure that after a while we'll overcome this pressure completely. These trials made us stronger. They have made us work harder on self-sufficiency, self-reliance, food security and technological sovereignty.”
“We very much appreciate your support, access to the huge Russian market that helped us re-build the logistics of commodity flows. We have completely reoriented ourselves. Today the work in this direction continues,” Aleksandr Lukashenko added.
One example is cooperation in drone production, which was recently discussed together with Russian specialists in Minsk. An agreement has been reached (and approved by the Russian president) to build a plant to make unmanned aircraft systems. “We can manufacture everything. And it doesn't take much time to get things going,” Aleksandr Lukashenko noted.
The head of state also noted that there is a great potential for the development of cooperation in the transportation sector. “It's time to seriously consider its more efficient use. First of all, the possibilities of railroad transportation,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said.
In this regard, the head of state recalled the proposal to build a high-speed road from Moscow to Minsk or even to Brest.
Belarus and Russia, the head of state noted, are also closely cooperating to replace imports. Belarusian components and parts are used in cars and aircraft made in Russia; domestic trucks and dump trucks have successfully replaced Western analogs in quarries and on city streets. Belarusian food, footwear, and clothing are well known to buyers from Smolensk to Sakhalin.
The head of state noted that the talks with the Russian president were, as always, intensive and productive. “We have held only a third part of the scheduled talks. We will continue tomorrow, if necessary, and the day after tomorrow to think about prospects. We need to outline them. Time flies and poses many questions for us,” he said.
The parties once again reviewed the main areas of cooperation between Belarus and Russia and the Union State's priorities for the near and medium term. The parties also exchanged views on the current international situation in the global and regional context. The parties reaffirmed the relevance of the Treaty on Security Guarantees within the Union State and the Concept of Security of the Union State signed last December.
The talks also focused on the prospects of interaction within the EAEU, where Belarus is chairing this year, the CIS, the CSTO, the SCO, and BRICS in the spirit of the concept of the Greater Eurasian Partnership, or integration of integrations.
Aleksandr Lukashenko thanked his Russian counterpart for his full support for Belarus' accession to the SCO and obtaining the status of a partner in BRICS.
“We also talked about the prospects for a return to normal, civilized dialogue in international organizations on a number of topical global issues,” the head of state said.
He said that during the talks the parties did not ignore the new situation in terms of conflict resolution in Ukraine. “We do not need to hope for something big in this situation. We need to trust only the hard evidence. All sorts of statements and promises are just that: statements and promises,” the Belarusian leader said.
“We also see some positive trends in the geopolitical situation, but they have not yet become global trends. Illegal economic sanctions imposed by a number of countries have not disappeared,” the head of state said.
“We also see some positive trends in the geopolitical situation, but they have not yet become global trends. Illegal economic sanctions imposed by a number of countries have not disappeared,” the head of state said.
At the same time, the presidents agreed that these sanctions were useful in some ways, in terms of the countries’ own development.
“The pressure on Belarus and Russia is not weakening. Although it is already clear to everyone that these restrictions are more harmful to the countries that introduced them,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said. “Well, they gave us an opportunity to seriously think about the prospects of our development. We made sure that after a while we'll overcome this pressure completely. These trials made us stronger. They have made us work harder on self-sufficiency, self-reliance, food security and technological sovereignty.”
“We very much appreciate your support, access to the huge Russian market that helped us re-build the logistics of commodity flows. We have completely reoriented ourselves. Today the work in this direction continues,” Aleksandr Lukashenko added.
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