Meeting with Governor of Russia’s Khabarovsk Krai Mikhail Degtyarev

Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko met with Governor of Russia’s Khabarovsk Krai Mikhail Degtyarev on 12 May.

The head of state said that Belarus-Russia cooperation outcomes should be useful and attractive to other countries.

“Despite the long distance between Belarus and Khabarovsk Territory, I want my ideology to be understood correctly. I believe that our common Fatherland is from Brest to Vladivostok. And, despite the emergence of sovereign, independent states in this common space, we, as reasonable people, should drop all sorts of prejudices and should build normal interaction that would be no worse than in the Soviet Union,” the Belarusian leader said.

Aleksandr Lukashenko noted that it is necessary to act in such a way as not to cause problems to anyone in Russia, or in Belarus, or in other countries. “Our experience should be interesting and attractive to other republics. I have been following this principle since the mid-1990s after the collapse of the Soviet Union. I have not compromised or deviated from this ideology. It is based on the fact that the Eastern Slavic civilization is one of the pillars and foundations of the world civilization in general. Destroying it would mean destroying at least half of the planet. We must stick to this, we must hold out. This is very relevant today,” the President said.

The head of state noted that distance is no longer an obstacle for promoting trade and economic cooperation. “We have good means of communication. Therefore, we should trade, as trade is the basis of any economy. We can provide you with equipment, various types of machinery, building materials, food, and industrial products. Yet, this is too simple. We need to advance towards closer cooperation. It is a blessing in disguise. Now we have the right moment to create cooperative enterprises. You are welcome to come here and launch companies. More than that, we are ready to operate in Khabarovsk, in Vladivostok, if you want us to. You know our economy, we produce more than we need, and we export almost as much as we consume. Therefore, we can scale up some cooperation projects in other countries, regions of the Russian Federation,” the head of state said.

He noted that this matter was discussed at his meetings with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The head of state urged not to worry about all sorts of sanctions. “We can cope with any problems ourselves in order to provide normal living standards for people in our homeland. We just need a little time to expand production and develop cooperation,” said the President.

Aleksandr Lukashenko suggested creating a base together in Khabarovsk Territory, which could be used to develop the region.