MINSK, January 19. /TASS/. The trade turnover between Russia and Belarus should not be counted in dollars amid the two countries’ declining dependence on the West, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said at a press conference on Thursday.
"Volumes of bilateral trade turnover have increased significantly amid declining dependence on Western countries, climbing to record-high figures - $50 bln. Perhaps we need to start counting in some other currency units and not in dollars, so that it is more clear for all of us," Lavrov said.
"Special attention was paid to the ongoing attempts by the West to meddle in the domestic affairs of our states," the Minister said. "Particularly, by way of introducing unlawful unilateral restrictive measures which, as Washington and European bureaucrats are no longer afraid to publicly declare, are aimed at undermining our economies and the internal political stability of Russia and Belarus," Lavrov noted.
The practice showed that the Western blitzkrieg against Russia and Belarus "has not been a success," the Russian top diplomat said. "Many joint steps have been taken recently, which strengthened the economic sovereignty of our countries," Lavrov informed. "These are, first and foremost, projects in the sphere of modern technologies, food security, transport and logistics connectivity," he added.