MINSK, 20 June (BelTA) - Belarusian-Russian relations have passed a tough test of sanctions, Chairman of the House of Representatives Vladimir Andreichenko told the media following a meeting of the 62nd session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Union State of Belarus and Russia in Minsk on 20 June, BelTA has learned.
"Belarusian-Russian relations have passed a very tough test. The sanctions imposed by the collective West did not break our economies. The presidents of the Republic of Belarus and the Russian Federation, who keep in constant contact, the governments of our states took all necessary measures to help industrial and agriculture enterprises and thereby to prevent the deterioration of living standards," Vladimir Andreichenko said.
According to him, MPs do not remain aloof from these issues. "Today we have considered one of the main issues regarding the fulfillment of the 28 Union State programs and increased the number of our standing commissions to 12. We have put them in charge of certain areas in which they should work together with governments, provide assistance to the governments, and interact within the framework of our parliamentary hearings, the ‘government hour'. In other words, they will engage in concrete work on the implementation of the Union State programs," the speaker of the House of Representatives said.
"Today, out attention is drawn to the formation of the Union State budget for the next year. The MPs noted that, unfortunately, we still have a lot of formalism on this front, and therefore we have also made certain decisions. The most important decision is that our programs, which we will adopt further, should be focused on import substitution and avoidance of economic dependence on the unfriendly states," Vladimir Andreichenko emphasized. “The third important line of work is countering the hybrid aggression waged against Belarus and Russia today, preserving the historical memory of the Great Patriotic War. We have mapped out the programs for the near future. I believe that the session was held in a positive, constructive manner."
The session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Belarus-Russia Union State was running in Minsk on 20 June. The Union State parliamentarians discussed efforts to counter external challenges and threats, sanctions, promulgation of Nazism, and efforts to protect historical memory. The Parliamentary Assembly approved the new memberships of the commissions and elected their chairpersons.
