Belarus and Russia resolve outstanding issues, relations described as very positive

MINSK, September 2. /TASS/. Belarus and Russia have resolved all issues, and bilateral relations are currently in a very positive state, Belarusian Prime Minister Alexander Turchin told journalists.

He said Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko gave the government a number of instructions on Wednesday to formalize new agreements with Russia. "Overall, I would describe Belarusian-Russian relations as very positive. We have essentially settled all outstanding issues. I believe we will formalize these arrangements in the medium term and successfully put them into practice," the BelTA news agency quoted the prime minister as saying.

Turchin noted that the previous week focused on the Belarusian-Russian agenda. In particular, Lukashenko met with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin and First Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov. The Belarusian prime minister, in turn, held talks in St. Petersburg with Alexey Miller, CEO of Russian state-owned energy giant Gazprom, and with Manturov in Minsk.

"Essentially, the heads of state approved the agreements reached by the governments of Belarus and Russia. The agenda was very broad, covering energy cooperation, industrial cooperation, joint integration projects and agricultural cooperation. The president gave a number of specific instructions to finalize and formalize the agreements and to guide our further cooperation. The economic situation is difficult but manageable. We see what needs to be done. I think we have every prospect of successfully completing this year," Turchin said.

A meeting of the Union State Council of Ministers will take place in Minsk on October 1, with a broad range of bilateral cooperation issues on the agenda. "This is ongoing daily work. New issues constantly arise, and we resolve them," he said.