Board of Belarusian and Russian Foreign Ministries meets in Moscow

5 июня 2017

By Darya Belousova-Petrovskaya: Foreign Ministers Vladimir Makei and Sergei Lavrov met at the Reception House of the Russian Foreign Ministry in Moscow. The Belarusian Foreign Minister’s visit began informally with the opening of an exhibition dedicated to the 25th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries. During the quarter-century, the countries have been actively cooperating in various integration associations, including the Eurasian Economic Union.

At today’s board meeting, the Foreign Ministers discussed the information promotion of the EAEU in the international arena, relations with NATO and Belarus-Russia humanitarian cooperation.

One of the most pressing issues is the Belarusian-Russian border. Recently, Russia has established a border zone between the countries, transferring Belavia flights to the international terminals of Russian airports. Answering journalists' questions, Sergei Lavrov assured that the border between the two countries would remain open for Belarusian and Russian citizens and they would not have any problems when crossing it. Belarus and Russia are currently preparing an intergovernmental agreement on the mutual recognition of visas.

The politicians also discussed economic issues. Today, Belarus is Russia's first trade partner in the CIS and the fourth in the world. According to Vladimir Makei, Belarus wants to not only maintain but also increase its presence in Russia’s market. At the same time, Belarus aims at closer contacts with the so-called far arc countries and the European Union, which is its second largest trade and economic partner after Russia.

The meeting resulted in a joint statement on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the Belarusian-Russian diplomatic relations. The document says that both countries act as cooperation locomotives in the CIS, will continue consolidating cooperation in the world arena and strongly condemn terrorism in all its forms and manifestations.