Events

MOSCOW, 19 November (BelTA) – Foreign Ministers of Belarus and Russia Vladimir Makei and Sergei Lavrov have approved the Union State foreign policy action plan for 2014-2015. The document was signed at the joint meeting of the Foreign Ministries of the two countries in Moscow on 19 November, BelTA has learnt.

The parties also signed a plan of Belarusian-Russian ministerial consultations for 2014.

The two ministers discussed a number of issues of bilateral importance.

Sergei Lavrov stated afterwards that the meeting was also focused on the progress made in the implementation of the Belarusian-Russian foreign policy action plan for 2012-2013. “It has been almost completed. A new program for the forthcoming two years will be submitted for consideration of the Supreme State Council of the Union State,” the Russian minister said.

The new program will envisage closer cooperation between Belarus and Russia in the integration processes of the CIS and CSTO, active collaboration in the UN and OSCE. “The new program will be used as the main tool in response to global threats and challenges such as terrorism, extremism, drugs traffic and others,” the Russian Foreign Minister said.

According to Foreign Minister of Belarus Vladimir Makei, the joint meeting “demonstrated the unanimity of views”. The next meeting will take place in Minsk in H2 2014. Vladimir Makei invited his Russian counterpart to pay a visit to Minsk in the first half of 2014.