Minsk, Moscow Manage to Answer Threats Despite ‘Rough Spots’ — Lukashenko

The President of Belarus noted that the current difficult time requires countries to have political will and focus on results on all topics of the bilateral agenda

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko Pavel Bednyakov/POOL/TASS

MINSK, December 19. /TASS/. Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said that, despite "some rough spots," Belarus and Russia have managed to respond to all threats.

"Strengthening Belarusian-Russian ties has become a natural response to the changing situation in the world, in which our strength has constantly been tested. I believe that, despite some rough spots, we are still able to find effective responses to various challenges and threats," Lukashenko said at a meeting with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Monday.

According to him, the fateful decisions on closer integration between Belarus and Russia once again show to the whole world that only together can any pandemics, crises or sanctions be overcome.

"Thanks to joint steps, we generally managed to overcome the possible negative effects of sanctions pressure," Lukashenko said.

He noted that the current difficult time requires countries to have political will and focus on results on all topics of the bilateral agenda.

"This is our answer. How successful we are in this work depends on the place that our countries will secure for themselves tomorrow in the new system of international coordinates," Lukashenko said.

The President of Belarus stressed that the governments of the two countries are working intensively, holding numerous meetings at the level of regions and enterprises. This results in the stable growth of trade, the solution of many issues that previously hindered cooperation.

"Even our so-called Western partners were too worried that we sometimes meet very often. We met regularly both in the Russian Federation and at international venues," the Belarusian leader said.

Closer partnership between Moscow and Minsk irks Washington — Russian embassy

According to the embassy, we paid attention to the statements by State Department Spokesperson Ned Price at a briefing on December 19

WASHINGTON, December 20. /TASS/. Closer cooperation between Russia and Belarus irks the United States which has been trying to isolate both countries, the Russian embassy in Washington said in a statement on Monday.

According to the embassy, "We paid attention to the statements by State Department Spokesperson Ned Price at a briefing on December 19. The official, among other things, went as far as to say that the words of [Russian] President [Vladimir] Putin about the lack of interest of the Russian Federation to absorb anyone, should be perceived as `an extreme irony’. He then simply refocused the narrative back to the favorite topic of the Russian `invasion’ of Ukraine. Such statements by the official representative of the administration are de-facto interference in the internal affairs of the Union State."

"The comprehensive and mutually beneficial cooperation between Russia and Belarus has been tested by time and is based on the sincere friendship of the fraternal peoples of the two countries," Russian diplomats emphasized. "In conditions when we are under unprecedented pressure from the collective West led by the United States, the natural reaction is to further deepen partnership. Apparently, this development causes irritation in the United States, which does not abandon its attempts to isolate the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus in the international arena," they added.

The United States still cannot or does not want "to admit that not all states are ready to live according to the fictitious `rules’ imposed by Washington. Hoping to maintain its dominant position, the US is trying to drive wedges into Russia's relations with its neighbors. Of course, this shall not be achieved under any circumstances," the Russian embassy concluded.

On Monday, the Russian head of state held talks with his Belarusian counterpart Alexander Lukashenko. The Russian delegation included Deputy Prime Minister Alexey Overchuk, Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu, Kremlin aide Yury Ushakov, Presidential Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov, and Roscosmos CEO Yury Borisov.

Russian Putin said in a televised address on February 24 that in response to a request by the heads of the Donbass republics he had made a decision to carry out a special military operation in Ukraine. Following this, Washington introduced sweeping sanctions against Moscow. Restrictions were also imposed on Belarus, which, the United States said, supported the Russian operation.