December 15, Pozirk. Minsk and Moscow have adopted a program of “coordinated foreign policy actions” for 2024–2026, which, according to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, “pays substantial attention” to “building up cooperation in the humanitarian sphere.”
The minister spoke to reporters in Moscow after the Belarusian and Russian foreign offices held a joint board meeting.
TASS quoted Lavrov as saying that in the next three years the Union State’s “scientific, educational and cultural space” will be expanded. The two countries will pay special attention to “patriotic education of youth and preservation of historical memory.”
Russia’s top diplomat said that today the board signed a resolution that cemented the agreements reached. “I am convinced (and it is our common opinion) that the decisions adopted today will further strengthen our cooperation and contribute to the growth of the international authority of the Union State,” he said.
Alejnik, in turn, said that Minsk and Moscow achieve “reliable and good results at every stage” and see “progress and prospects” no matter how hard “ill-wishers” try to prevent it, the Belarusian foreign ministry reported.
“These agreements will undoubtedly have a positive long-term impact on the further development of our countries, on the strengthening of the Belarusian and Russian economies and our joint economic potential, and ultimately on the improvement of the well-being of our citizens,” the Belarusian minister said.
In his opening speech, Lavrov said that the ministries’ agenda was “fully oriented towards the Global South and the Global East – the majority of the world.” These countries are “open to cooperation on the basis of equality and mutual benefit, without ultimatums and threats (or, even more so, sanctions).” According to him, the agenda reflected “further adjustment of Russian and Belarusian foreign policy priorities to the current geopolitical realities.”
Earlier this week, Russian diplomats announced that the agenda would include political and economic cooperation with Asia, Africa, Latin America, and the Caribbean. They also planned to discuss Eurasian security. There was no mention of relations with Europe.
