Events

17 May 2023

Belarus’ consulate general to open in Russia’s St Petersburg

An archive photo

MOSCOW, 17 May (BelTA) – There are plans to open Belarus’ Consulate General in Russia’s St. Petersburg, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told the media on 17 May, BelTA has learned.

Speaking about the results of the talks with his Belarusian counterpart, the Russian foreign minister said that they discussed the further strengthening of the consular presence in both countries. “I would like to thank our Belarusian friends once again for fast solution of the issues related to the opening of the Russian Consulate General in Grodno,” he said, adding that it opened in December 2022.

“For our part, we are helping our Belarusian friends in the process of transforming the offices of the Belarusian Embassy in St. Petersburg into the Consulate General and in the establishment of new regional offices of the Belarusian embassy in our country,” Sergey Lavrov said.

They also discussed the implementation of the program of concerted actions in foreign policy for 2022-2023 and the plan of ministerial consultations. The parties outlined topics for the next annual joint meeting of the collegiums of the ministries of foreign affairs, which is set to take place in Moscow in Q4 2023.

According to Sergey Lavrov, Belarus and Russia should agree on a new program of foreign policy coordination for 2024-2025. “Total coordination in foreign policy is one of the key elements of the Union State construction and an increasingly important condition for securing national interests of our countries in the current geopolitical situation. We have agreed to continue to act relying on each other, as allies, strategic partners, in the interests of our countries, peoples and the Union State,” he stated.

They also discussed urgent issues of integration construction, including the implementation of the resolution of the Supreme State Council on the development of the security concept of the Union State. “The ministries of foreign affairs of Russia and Belarus will provide the most active support in this process, which will be coordinated by the offices of the Security Councils of our countries. We all have confidence that this strategic document - the Security Concept of the Union State - will further strengthen the mutual guarantees of the defensive capacity of our association and our cooperation in this sector in general,” Sergey Lavrov stressed.