Meeting with Russian First Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov

Russia may be interested in new joint projects and increase funding, Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko said during a meeting with Russian First Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov in Minsk on 28 October.

"Projects are many, even more than we agreed on. There are more projects than the amount of loans Russia has provided. Perhaps Russia will be interested in our new projects and increase funding. But this will depend on your negotiations [with representatives of Belarus' government]," the head of state said.

Aleksandr Lukashenko noted that recently Belarus and Russia often discuss that the West has failed to bring the countries to their knees and put pressure on them. "Certainly, this is a great merit of the economy sectors, which you supervise. First of all – the manufacturing sector. Together with Russia we have set an ambitious task to overcome dependence on imports and focused on import substitution," the head of state stated. "I think together with the Belarusian government you will decide how the cooperation moves forward.”

The President thanked Denis Manturov, the Russian government and the President for Russia's financial contribution to many joint import-substituting projects. "There are such landmark, large-scale projects as the Osvey aircraft project. This is a new chapter for us. We are grateful to you for this. Maybe the era of aircraft building in Belarus will begin with this airplane," the Belarusian leader said.

"You are a well-known figure in this industry, in the manufacturing sector as a whole. I believe your support will be very important for us," the President added.