MINSK, June 13. /TASS/. Russia’s Sberbank banking and financial services company should step up its activities in the Belarusian market, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said at a meeting with Sberbank CEO German Gref on Tuesday.

"Sberbank of Russia is an active participant in our market. I believe it needs to step up its activities, and we will be gradually doing that," Lukashenko’s press service quotes him as saying. "I am prepared to discuss any problems that exist in our cooperation today."

For his part, Gref thanked the Belarusian president for his constructive approach. "Sberbank in Belarus is a major market player, and we have expanded our portfolio in these difficult times since 2014," he said. "Now the situation is much more stable. I believe we will finish this year much better than 2015 and 2016."

Gref noted that Sberbank is to "achieve a sustainable profit" as of next year. "In general, the situation is under control," he said.