MOSCOW, March 15./TASS/. Russia and Belarus are not just friends, they are brothers, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said responding to a statement by Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko that his country has no friends in the world.

"We go on a premise that such a statement can hardly apply to Russia," the spokesman told journalists when asked what the Kremlin thought about Lukashenko’s words.

Russia and Belarus are part of the Union State, Peskov reiterated. "And we are brothers rather than friends," he added.

In comments on a recent opinion poll, President Alexander Lukashenko said earlier that he saw as justified aspirations of the country’s citizens for security and stability. At the same time, he said that Belarus had no friends in the world.