Putin & Lukashenko: Russia & Belarus working more and more closely in all fields

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said he is confident that parliamentary elections in his country and the presidential elections in Russia will be held calmly. He announced that deputies of parliament and local councils in Belarus will be elected on February 25. Russia’s election commission on Monday formally registered President Vladimir Putin as a candidate for the March presidential election, a vote in which he’s all but certain to win another six-year term in office. Lukashenko was speaking at a meeting of the State Council of Russia-Belarus’ Union State in St Petersburg on Monday. Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that trade turnover between Russia and Belarus increased by almost 9.5 percent and was nearly a record 43 billion dollars last year. Russia has been a major sponsor of Belarus’ Soviet-style economy, which relies on cheap Russian energy and loans. Lukashenko noted at the meeting that the two countries “have not yet fully decided on the creation of common markets for gas, oil and petroleum products.” The Kremlin also has offered staunch political support to Lukashenko, who has ruled Belarus with an iron hand for nearly three decades, helping him weather months of massive protests triggered by his re-election in an August 2020 vote that the opposition and the West denounced as rigged. Putin noted Belarus has become a nuclear power, and “this is a serious step.” He said with Russia’s help, the construction of the Belarusian nuclear power plant was completed in 2023. Putin added Belarus and Russia will continue to deepen socioeconomic and humanitarian integration. __________________ ShanghaiEye focuses on producing top-quality contents. Nobody knows SHANGHAI better than us. Please subscribe to us ☻☻☻ __________________ For more stories, please click ■ What’s up today in Shanghai, the most updated news of the city ■ Amazing Shanghai, exploring the unknown corners of the city, learning the people, food and stories behind them ■ What Chinese people’s lives are like during the post COVID-19 period ■ Views of foreign scholars on China and its affairs ■ Foreign faces in Shanghai, people living in this city sharing their true feelings ■ Mini-docs showing why China is the country it is today __________________ ☎Leave us messages if you have any suggestions or questions! Thank you!