Working meeting with Deputy Prime Minister Mikhail Rusy

Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko ordered a new bridge to be built between Zhitkovichi and Turov this year. The head of state set forth this task during a working meeting with Deputy Prime Minister Mikhail Rusy on 1 March.

According to the head of state, he often visits this region. “People understand that anything can happen. But they should not be affected by this problem. We need to arrange the transportation to Turov, Zhitkovichi. We need to do everything so that people can move across the river, at least the ones who need to get to the places of their work. The bridge must be fixed within the year,” the President said.

The President said that he intends to visit the district in the spring and monitor how this issue is being addressed. “I do not want the people to complain saying that we are not dealing with this problem. I have the matter under control. But this is the place where you hail from, and in the Year of Native land you must not turn away from this,” the President said.

The head of state also instructed to check other similar bridges in the country. “We cannot wait until another bridge breaks. We need to reinforce these bridges, put up additional support. It is inadmissible to restrict the movement, or close those bridges making people travel round some 300km and more,” the President said.

Problems with Belarusian milk sales in Russia were also discussed at the meeting.

Aleksandr Lukashenko said: “But I want to say that such things will not go unanswered. We will not tolerate it. The intelligence service tells me that Russia has imported some milk powder from New Zealand or from somewhere else, it is up to them, there is an excess now and they’ve decided to slow down our sales in order to sell that milk at high prices. This is why they don’t like our cheap milk.”

“We are going to sell our milk to them for the price we deem right. They may choose to raise the prices that Russian citizens pay if Russians, Moscow residents, or Saint Petersburg residents are fed up with New Zealand milk already. This is why I am eager to learn how the problem is being resolved,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said.

During the meeting Aleksandr Lukashenko also asked Mikhail Rusy about problems in agriculture at the moment. He wondered whether the current weather conditions are having an effect on the state of affairs. “Winter is trying us. Thank god, genuine winter has arrived in Belarus, just the kind of winter we had when we were kids. This is why I’d like to know the state of affairs in agriculture. I’d like to know how our animal farms, which we’ve built using cutting-edge technologies, are handling it. What are your concerns?” asked Aleksandr Lukashenko.

The President drew attention to the situation in forestry industry. “It is a total mess. Bribe taking is rampant. We will give an estimate of you, too. The deputy prime minister should have straightened things out over there,” Aleksandr Lukashenko warned.