Anti-sanction response, situation in Ukraine, cooperation between Belarus and Russia - talks between Lukashenko and Putin held in Kremlin

11 марта 2022
On 11 March, the leaders of Belarus and Russia met in the Kremlin. The agenda included bilateral cooperation, the anti-sanctions response, and the situation in Ukraine and the region as a whole. This was the second face-to-face meeting of the two Presidents this year. The situation requires personal communication between the heads of state. Today the allies have to repel attacks of various kinds together. The degree of confrontation in the information field does not abate. The West has launched an unprecedented sanctions pressure. The pressure on the economies of our countries is off the scale. The West's intention is obvious - to divide our allies and deprive them of mutual support.

But all the statements of today's politicians only confirm that Minsk and Moscow are not going to give up! On the contrary, the alliance will find an antidote and will only grow stronger. Moreover, Alexander Lukashenko called for the alliance not only within the framework of the "two countries", but also in the Eurasian Union and the CSTO. The common economic policy could be the main trump card in the fight against Western prohibitions and barriers. The Presidents also discussed the situation in the region. The opponents do not lose hope of involving Belarus in a military conflict. And new tricks are being invented for this purpose.

Lukashenko about the sanctions of the West: We will withstand them athwart our enemies' plans!

Obviously, the answer of Minsk and Moscow to the unprecedented sanctions blow will not be long in coming. But before getting to the substance of the negotiations, Vladimir Putin congratulated his counterpart on an important domestic political event. He said that further economic development is hardly possible without a stable political basis.

Lukashenko: foreign mercenaries are heading towards Chernobyl and do not lose hope of dragging Belarus into the bloodbath.

Against this background, the degree of confrontation only increases on the information field. Frank fakes have become an influential tool of war. The Western information attack is aimed at driving a wedge between Minsk and Moscow. But integration is only getting stronger. 

Andrei Savinykh, Chairman of the Standing Committee of the House of Representatives of the National Assembly:

“The world is divided, one can preserve one's sovereignty and political future only in unions - military, political, economic, in unions of sovereign states. I believe that the Union State meets the criteria and becomes the key to the prospects of both Belarus and Russia.”

Lukashenko: sanctions are a time of opportunity.

And since the sanctions are for a long time (and the Presidents are convinced of this), it is worth to strengthen mutual support. And the reality is that the latest sanctions have demonstrated the degree of dependence of our economies on foreign capital. Its outflow motivates a major economic restructuring of the entire economic system. But this is the bonus, the analysts assure. They say it is possible to become a self-sufficient industrial power even as a member of the "two", if we connect the potential of the partners in the Eurasian integration. Alexander Lukashenko suggests: let us be more active. This is, perhaps, the simplest and most obvious anti-crisis plan.

Lukashenko: we must unite in the CSTO and the EAEC, and we will forget about the sanctions.

All this is just an official part of the negotiations. For several more hours the Presidents talked behind closed doors. There is a lot of joint work ahead. Judging by their determination to get results, the heads of states are going  not only fight their opponents on all fronts, but also build a new union economy. The allies also intend to emerge stronger from the maelstrom of recent events.