Putin interested in Belarus’ exports via Russia’s Arctic ports – Łukašenka

September 8, BPN. Russian President Vladimir Putin has expressed interest in having Belarusian exports shipped through the seaports of Russia’s Murmansk region, Alaksandr Łukašenka said at a meeting with Andrei Chibis, the Murmansk region’s governor.

Łukašenka added that rerouting Belarusian exports, in particular potash fertilizers, was of strategic importance. According to him, there are still some issues to be solved, including the cost of delivery of goods by rail.

He noted that a new route for exports to Asia through the Arctic Ocean should expand logistics cooperation with Russia. “If we cooperate well, we can seriously add millions of tons to develop this route,” Łukašenka’s press office quoted him as saying.

On August 11, Prime Minister Raman Hałoŭčanka announced that Belarusian cargo port facility would be constructed in northwestern Russia.

According to Alexander
Drozdenko, governor of Russia’s Leningrad region, Belarusian companies have
been offered several sites for port construction in Russia, both in Primorsk
and Ust-Luga, but there is no final decision yet.