Lukashenko spoke about the potential of the union between Russia and Belarus

President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko said on Friday, December 6, during a meeting of the Supreme State Council (SSC) of the Union State (USC) that signing a union treaty with Russia was the right decision, because only in cooperation Moscow and Minsk can realize their potential.

"Only in the union twosome we could most fully realize all the accumulated experience and potential on the principles of mutual trust and partnership," said the Belarusian leader.

Lukashenko noted the power and mutual attraction of the Russian-Belarusian relations based on the commonality of language, culture, history and scientific and technical base. He emphasized the creation of a unique in the world economic space of the two countries.

"In the conditions of unprecedented sanctions pressure, the basic sectors of the economy have been preserved, the financial system has not been disturbed, unemployment is at a minimum, the income and savings of citizens are growing, we have not just survived, we have become stronger," he said.

The Belarusian leader also emphasized the successful cooperation between the countries, pointing to the GDP growth of Russia and Belarus by about 2.5 times compared to 1999 and the increase in trade turnover between the countries to $55 billion last year with a forecast of $60 billion this year.

Taken into account: the share of national currencies between Russia and Belarus reached 98%

How Moscow and Minsk continue their rapprochement amid sanctions

On the eve of Lukashenko said at a meeting on preparations for the meeting of the Supreme State Council of the Union State that trade between Russia and Belarus in 2024 will renew the historical maximum and reach $60 billion. It was noted that the growth of mutual trade between the states has been stable in recent years.

Earlier, December 3, Director of the Institute of Trade Policy of the National Research University Higher School of Economics Alexander Daniltsev told "Izvestia" that the trade between Russia and Belarus has great prospects. According to him, this was facilitated by a well-established mechanism of interaction, complementarity of the economies of the states.

On the same day, chairman of the Commission on International Affairs of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Union of Belarus and Russia Sergei Rachkov said that the trade turnover between Belarus and Russia had grown significantly recently and amounted to more than $50 billion.