SOCHI, 23 May (BelTA) – The sanctions of the West gave Belarus and Russia an additional incentive to promote their own development, Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko said as he met with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Sochi, BelTA has learned.
“As far as the economy is concerned, I really thank them for giving us an impetus to promote our own development. We have a huge market, we have resources, technologies. Well, they clearly underestimated what was happening there. They believed what their media told them, and ended up with inflation ... They blame Putin for that. Putin is to blame for everything there,” the head of state remarked with irony.
Aleksandr Lukashenko noted that the economy, both in Russia and within the Union State, is bouncing back stronger than expected: “Take inflation, take unemployment. It turned out to be smaller. The unemployment rate is falling. This is good. Well, the ruble is strengthening at a frantic pace. Let's not overdo it here. Thus, unexpected things happen. Well, they were unexpected for them, not for us. This is a time of opportunity. Without realizing it they (the West) pushed us to work harder to improve our economy,” the president said.
