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Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov's comment for the media following a meeting with President of the Republic of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko, Minsk, January 19, 2023

19 January 2023 13:38
62-19-01-2023

Good afternoon,

I have had a meeting with President of the Republic of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko, and we have discussed the work of the foreign ministries of our two countries to implement foreign policy aspects of strengthening the Union State.

For over 20 years, we have been approving two-year programmes regarding coordinated actions on the international stage. We are currently implementing the 2022-2023 programme. We are drafting another document for the next two years, due to be approved by the Supreme State Council. We hold annual meetings of the collegiums of our foreign ministries, while implementing these joint foreign policy actions. This time, it is Minsk's turn to host our meeting today.

The agenda will focus on drafting additional measures to implement our coordinated policy as regards hostile actions taken against our countries and the Union State by NATO and the EU. They are trying to involve other organisations, including the Council of Europe and the OSCE, in these hostile actions. We will discuss the coordination of our steps at UN divisions.

Today, we told President of the Republic of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko about the ways our foreign ministries help support and implement 28 Union programmes. They are almost 70 percent complete. Everything is proceeding as planned. At the same time, we are drafting a new action plan to strengthen the Union State and to implement the Treaty on the Union State over a period of three years, from 2024 until 2026.

We exchanged opinions regarding international developments around the events in Ukraine during Russia's special military operation. We share a common position regarding specific goals that have to be attained, so that no threats to Russia and Belarus would emanate from our neighbours, including Ukraine or others. All essential tasks are implemented under direct orders from both presidents. Our leaders regularly note this, while meeting in Belarus and the Russian Federation.

Vladimir Putin and Alexander Lukashenko met ten times throughout 2022. This underscores the special nature of relations within the framework of the Union State and the special role that our presidents play in promoting the legitimate interests of each country and the entire Union State on the international scene.