Prime minister: International situation an argument in favor of integration with Russia

June 13, BPN. Belarusian Prime Minister Raman Hałoŭčanka has said the current international situation is an “additional argument in favor of a stronger and more intense union building”.

He was speaking at a reception organized by the Russian Embassy in Minsk on June 13, according to a video disseminated by the Belarusian government’s press service.

“We now enter a new, natural stage of economic integration,” Hałoŭčanka said. “It is not only manufacturing cooperation, but also cultural and humanitarian integration, as well as integration in the field of finance and banking.”

The prime minister said “we still have quite a long way to go”, but it would eventually lead to the enrichment of both nations.

Trade turnover with Russia “increased by more than a third last year”, and the dynamic “continues in 2022”, he added.

“The Western policy of sanctions that was aimed at disuniting us has in fact united our countries to confront new challenges and threats,” he said.

“Russia and Belarus will successfully pass this difficult stage,” he concluded.