President’s working visit to St. Petersburg begins with talks with Russian leader and searching for solution of integration issues

The Belarusian leader held a bilateral meeting with Vladimir Putin. The Presidents discussed key aspects of relations with the Union State. Today's talks are a continuation of the 5-hour Sochi dialogue. The Presidents noted the evident progress in cooperation between our countries. Belarus and Russia have a single defense space, a common border and customs in the west, there are no problems in the work of our diplomatic corps. Alexander Lukashenko emphasized significant achievements in the social sphere and in economic interaction.

Alexander Lukashenko, President of the Republic of Belarus: " We have made a colossal progress. We have not separated from each other in the economy, in politics, or in the social sphere since the collapse of the Soviet Union. This is a great achievement. But it is worth noting that we have issues to work on."

Vladimir Putin, President of Russia: "We celebrated the 20th anniversary of the signing of the Union Treaty on December 8. When we started this process, the turnover was $ 9 billion. Now it is $ 35.5 billion. This is a visible result. The experience gained by Belarus and Russia in the framework of bilateral union building subsequently was widely used in the formation of integration associations, including the EAEU."

The meeting of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council will be held in the northern capital of Russia today. The leaders of 5 countries will summarize the development of Eurasian integration, as well as discuss the problems and prospects of work in 2020, including in the context of our future chairmanship in the EAEU. Minsk calls for removing the barriers. Belarus stands for equal conditions for competition in the common market. There are more than 70 barriers to the integration of our economies according to EEC. Alexander Lukashenko will take part in the informal summit of the CIS heads.