LIVE: President Putin and Lukashenko Chair Annual Union State Meeting | Russia-Belarus Ties | N18G

Dear members of the Supreme State Council, dear participants of our event today. Traditionally, I want to thank Vladimir Putin, the government, the heads of parliament, our ministers of the Russian Federation for the hospitable reception and for the attention. On the western borders, it is vitally necessary for us to develop relations of alliance and strategic partnership between Belarus and Russia. The geopolitical situation objectively sets before us the task of being ready to jointly respond to any challenges. The practical implementation of the treaty on security guarantees within the Union State has begun. In December, the Oreshnik missile system began combat duty in Belarus, as we agreed. We work coherently in foreign policy. The signing today of a directive on mutual support and cooperation in the field of international justice will be an important step in protecting common interests, the inviolability of international law and its institutions. But the focus of attention, as always, is primarily the economy. The global trading system, unfortunately, is being blocked today. They bend and break it to suit themselves through the introduction of protective tariffs, technological and energy blockades, currency pressure, and piracy on logistics routes. Some countries are not allowed to export oil, others to import. They try not to allow it. If the leaders of the multipolar world, China and Russia, are still somewhat feared, then their allies are subjected to unprecedented pressure. Just in recent weeks, take, for example, Venezuela, Cuba, Iran, our common partners have become objects of the crudest interference, primarily through the economy. Therefore, technological sovereignty, reliance on our own resources and competencies, the priority of the Union product, and the protection of the common market of the Union State — these are the same security frontiers, no less important than the military and foreign policy ones. Dear comrades, on April 2 we will mark the 30th anniversary of the treaty on the formation of the Community of Belarus and Russia, which laid the foundation for the development of our Union construction. Over these years, we have come a huge way. Mutual access to markets allowed us to increase the volume of trade turnover over the past years eightfold, from 6.5 billion dollars in 1996 to almost 55 billion dollars last year. In bilateral trade, the energy component has decreased, mutual supplies of food and consumer goods have grown. Trade in services — transport, construction, information — is developing at a faster pace. Mutual investments give our economies impulses for interconnected growth, and most importantly, create new jobs. More than 60% of the funds attracted by Belarus come from Russian investors. Our country has also significantly increased investment in the Russian economy. Today, the government will report on the work to implement the main directions for implementing the provisions of the treaty on the creation of the Union State for 2024-2026. At the moment, only 40% of sectoral measures have been completed, 125 out of 310. The process for a relatively small number of instructions is behind schedule — 14, only 4.5%. In parallel, we need to ensure the preparation of substantive main directions for the next three-year period. And most importantly, we must fulfill them. They should be oriented primarily towards ensuring the technological sovereignty of the Union State and technical parity with other countries. Especially since we can do this, as we are successfully doing, albeit in certain areas, in certain industries. The government and the permanent committee need to work them out qualitatively and comprehensively, so that we can then move forward at the speed that the situation already demands of us. In Union construction, we proceed from life, moving to a higher level of integration, creating interstate structures where it is ripe. Currently, we have the interstate center of the customs committee, the tax committee, and the Union hydromet. Today we are establishing a committee on standardization and quality of the Union State, which should ensure control over the quality of products on our common market and help eliminate technical obstacles in mutual trade. This year, the status of a product of the Union State finally received legal formalization. It is important that behind the beautiful official sign there follows real support and protection of the interests of Belarusian-Russian producers of our common product. The expansion of opportunities for citizens of the Union State will be served by the launch, in just a few months, of cross-border railway transportation on the routes Vitebsk-Smolensk, Orsha-Smolensk. I often note, and I told Mikhail Vladimirovich Mishustin this, he often says today that we will strengthen and accelerate our cooperation in terms of transportation. As soon as you introduced additional Lastochkas, as we call them, we have a huge number, millions of Belarusians went to Moscow, and today they are no longer enough. Vladimir Vladimirovich, I should note, I was informed yesterday. Our fugitives are already concerned that Belarusians are not going to Europe at all. Everyone is going east. Fewer, of course, to China, more to Moscow, to the Russian Federation. This is what it means to proceed from the ground. We do what our people need. And today we have planned to consider issues of railway and road communication between neighboring regions. This is what is needed. And then there is no need to persuade anyone to be in the union or not. We need to take these steps for the people. And I am sure that all of you truly realize the value of Belarusian-Russian relations, the unprecedented depth of our integration. The decision being considered today will allow us to once again confirm the relevance of the Union State format. And I want first of all to thank, Vladimir Vladimirovich, your ministers, members of the government of the Russian Federation, who have begun to pay more attention under the current government. Mikhail Vladimirovich, thank you. I am not even talking about our parliamentarians. They are generally the engines of our relations. And our events within the framework of the regions. This is very important. Today, the Chinese have already proposed to us, on the principle of how you work with Russia, let's work region to region. Today, Iran, not today, but about six months ago, also wants such cooperation. It is clearer on the ground what people need. Therefore, the fact that we once pushed this process, and the parliamentarians are involved in this, especially the senators, I am grateful to them for that. And I very much hope that the Russian government will be faithful to Union construction, and we will fulfill all instructions and our agreements, and our decisions that we make at our joint events. Vladimir Vladimirovich, everyone is waiting for you to say something about this. Then we will move on to the agenda.