MINSK, April 02. /ITAR-TASS/. Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko said that Belarusian-Russian relations are time-tested and that at present, the Union State (of Belarus and Russia) is the example and basis for unification processes in all post-Soviet space, according to the presidential press service.
"The difficult present-day reality sets large tasks of further integration before us," said Lukashenko, chairman of the Supreme State Council of the Union State, in a congratulatory message on Tuesday, April 2, which is Day of Unification of the Peoples of Belarus and Russia. "Our objective is to do everything for the Union State, the Customs Union, the Common Economic Space, and, in the future, the Eurasian Economic Union not to dub but supplement each other, in real and visible implementation of the advantages of various forms of comprehensive cooperation."
"Unification Day is a holiday and symbol of the common civilized choice for Belarus and Russia linking the past, the present and the future," he noted.
Lukashenko explained that the link with history implied that the two peoples were held together by centuries-long ties of friendship and mutual assistance. the present means that it is in the newest time, at the turn of the 1990s, that Belarus and Russia decided to pool efforts towards further joint development. As for the future, the development of the Union State is aimed to reach social and economic progress, raising the welfare of Belarusians and Russians.
He reminded that 2014 marks the 15th anniversary of signing the Union State treaty. "Belarusian-Russian relations have been tested by time and historical benchmarks. Equality, mutual respect, friendship and accounting for each other's interests are the basic principles underlying our long-term bilateral cooperation," the Belarusian leader said. "Our relations will be getting stronger and developing further."