Łukašenka says wants to redirect 20 million tons of Belarusian cargoes to St. Petersburg ports

June 25, BPN. At the meeting with St. Petersburg governor Aleksandr Beglov on June 24, Alaksandr Łukašenka spoke about Belarusian goods’ transshipment in the ports of this constituent part of Russia.

“We want to completely redirect some 20 million tons of our traffic to your ports,” Łukašenka said, as quoted by his press service.

“And I will ask for your support and assistance. We agreed on this with Russian President [Vladimir Putin]. You know this, since he called you about the matter. I think that if you and I unfold it here, it will be a good piece of work for St. Petersburg and good jobs for our St. Pete friends,” he said.

According to Łukašenka, trade between Belarus and St. Petersburg “grows a lot every year.” Łukašenka said Minsk is “full of determination to cooperate with St. Petersburg in all areas, from elevators to municipal machinery.”

In turn, Beglov praised Łukašenka for his industrial and healthcare policies, and noted that “the Belarusian trading house operates in St. Petersburg successfully and effectively, and the products presented there are in demand.”

The Russian governor said that in 2022, contracts were signed to purchase 900 MAZ buses (500 of them have already been delivered) and about 100 trolley buses for St. Petersburg, and the purchase of electric buses and municipal vehicles (some 1,200 units) has been agreed.

“I saw that Belarus was developing properly and beautifully, and it is very pleasant for us. The fact that we are friends today is a great sign of respect and trust for each other. Yes, we have different countries, but we are one people,” Beglov said.

The Belarusian authorities started mulling the redirection of cargo traffic to Russian ports after they were denied transshipped in the ports of the Baltic states, particularly in Lithuania.