MINSK, 9 April (BelTA) – The EAEU countries need to explore other markets and forge relations with third countries instead of engaging in unproductive competition within the union itself, Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko said during an interview with the Interstate TV and Radio Company Mir on 8 April, BelTA has learned.
When asked about the importance of the EAEU, the Belarusian leader stated that a lot can be said about it. He named one of the key factors: "We all still speak the same language," he said. "Our main language which we are fluent in is Russian. This means a lot. We don’t need translators: farmers, workers, intellectuals can communicate directly, not to mention the leadership of our countries. This is very important."
He also pointed to the cultural similarities of the peoples of the EAEU states, who coexist in harmony. "Muslims, Jews, Catholics, Orthodox Christians all live here. Do we look at each other with hostility? No, we have found common ground. Certain disagreements still exist, and they always will be there, but we are united, we are close people. We celebrate Easter, as well as Nowruz all together: Muslims, Christians, Jews," the Belarusian president stated.
We need to build and develop trade and economic cooperation based on these relationships, Aleksandr Lukashenko believes. "It is a great achievement that we have maintained this unity," he stressed. "We need this to preserve our market. The market is of paramount importance. We must develop our market, grow, and, bluntly speaking, conquer other markets, cooperate with other countries, rather than compete pointlessly with each other. We need to unite. We can achieve this within the framework of the Eurasian Economic Union, where we are currently presiding [Belarus is currently holding the EAEU presidency], and also within the Commonwealth of Independent States, where we have a free trade zone."
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