Lukashenko: Belarus and Russia have overcome sanctions

Belarus and Russia have overcome the sanctions pressure, Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko said at the talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in the Kremlin on 11 April, BelTA has learned.

The president said that he discussed some economic issues with his Russian counterpart in the Kremlin. “You have supported me in the initiative of our prime ministers to meet on 15 April to look into some economic issues that need to be resolved. This is very important for us,” he said.

In general, he called the situation in the economy amid sanctions pressure tolerable: “We have overcome the sanctions pressure in the economic sector. So has Russia. We have this huge Belarusian-Russian market, as well as friendly countries to work with. We have enough for both of us. We will surely withstand. We have the market, resources. We know what needs to be done.”

Aleksandr Lukashenko added that most of the loans allocated by Russia for joint projects have already been successfully utilized. “The joint projects financed with the loan of RUB 100 billion are gathering pace. We are building factories and so on. We were worried about the production of chips and microchips, and now we are starting to develop our own. I think we can easily get out of this situation. Therefore, as I once said, we need a little time and we will solve all the problems together with Russia,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said.

“I would like the Ukrainians to be with us as well. I feel that soon the time will come when Ukraine realizes where its happiness is,” the Belarusian leader said.

“Let them decide for themselves,” Vladimir Putin responded.