Opinions & Interviews

MINSK, 18 November (BelTA) – The talks between Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow will focus, first of all, on political topics, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Russia to Belarus Alexander Surikov told reporters.

“I think that the Presidents will focus, first of all, on political topics in the light of the situation in the world. The economic issues that everyone has heard about, including the oil dispute and others, will not be in the spotlight at this meeting. But these issues will probably be on the agenda as well,” the Russian diplomat said.

The Ambassador also commented on the press conference that the Belarusian President gave for representatives of Russian regional mass media on 17 November. “In my opinion, yesterday’s conference heard less criticism than the previous ones. In the current global situation, we need to try to be less hard on delicate matters. Some foreign policy issues may emerge in the world, including in connection with the elections in the United States, France, Germany ... Therefore today is not the time for engaging in disputes,” the Russian Ambassador said.

Speaking about the development of the CIS cooperation in view of the upcoming Russia’s chairmanship in the CIS, the Ambassador stressed that the cooperation is primarily based on the economy. “It is the economy that binds. I share Alexander Lukashenko’s concern over economic projects. One of them is the Silk Road. We need to implement it as soon as possible. It will bind countries together, including some of the CIS countries. We need to start thinking about the future joint projects, in energy, industrial production, and so on,” Alexander Surikov said.