Belarus PM, top Russian lawmaker extol bilateral relations
MINSK. June 4 (Interfax) - Belarus Prime Minister Mikhail Myasnikovich has denied the existence of any problems between his country and Russia and praised Russian President Vladimir Putin's visit to Minsk last week.
"We assess the results of Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin's visit very highly. It was not just an official visit, that visit was filled with specific proposals and projects, it involved work that was being done by partners, by friends," Myasnikovich said during a meeting in Minsk with the chairperson of Russia's Federation Council, Valentina Matviyenko.
Putin discussed with the Belarusian leadership "not just trade issues but issues of investment and the setting up of joint ventures," Myasnikovich said. "It's a good sign, a good reserve, and we value our brotherly relations with Russia a great deal."
"Today there are no problems in our cooperation, either at regional or at interstate level, within the CIS [Commonwealth of Independent States]," Myasnikovich said.
In a comment on a Russian-Belarusian-Kazakh plan to set up a so-called Eurasian Economic Space, he said the three countries' prime ministers are due to meet in St. Petersburg on June 15 to take up "very important issues, issues of industrial policy and coordination of our efforts."
"On the whole, trade [between Belarus and Russia] is developing successfully," Myasnikovich said, adding that last year's Belarusian-Russian trade volume was $40 billion. "In the first quarter there was also quite decent growth," he said.
Matviyenko said Putin's visit to Minsk offered evidence that "Belarus is our main strategic partner and ally."
"That visit opens up a new phase in the expansion and strengthening of our ties," she said. "All tiers of government must focus on putting all the points in the statement of the presidents of the two states into practice."