Sergey Gusachenko: The session of the Union State Supreme Council was dedicated to the bilateral relations of Belarus and Russia. All CIS associations are based on the Union State of Belarus and Russia. Wile opening the meeting Alexander Lukashenko noted that the Union State should be an ice-breaker in managing the most complicated issues. Belarus and Russia have built reliable links in all spheres from economy to culture. Russia is going to give Belarus an additional credit of 2bn USD. The trade turnover between Belarus and Russia amounts to 40bn USD and Belarus ranks 1st among the Russia's trade partners in the CIS and 5th among its partners in the world. Belarus buys a lot of raw, materials and spare parts in Russia and indirectly employs 10 million Russian people.
The integration of Belarus and Russia is a wholesome unit, which encompasses economic issues, politics, defense, security and customs issues. The principal objective of the current meeting is consolidation of the Eurasian Economic Union. Russia is our principal trade partner, strategic ally and the main investor. The construction of a NPP alone costs a lot. 20% of the Russian oil transit passes through Belarus. Dozens of Russian Governors visited Minsk this year and 37 Belarusian delegations attended various regions of Russia. The agenda of the day includes over a dozen of issues mot of them related to economy. 2013 gives hope. Over 20 investment projects with Russian capital are implemented in Belarus. Big industrial holdings will be created. MAZ, MZKT and Integral may unite their efforts with Russia. In 2014 the budget will be almost 5bn USD. The parties also adopted a program of military and technical cooperation ending 2020.













