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Minsk, Moscow take effective measures against Western sanctions — Belarus’ top diplomat

Sergey Aleinik pointed to a rise in trade in goods and services, which hit the $50 bln mark last year

MOSCOW, May 17. /TASS/. The measures that Minsk and Moscow took against Western sanctions have produced positive results for both countries, Belarusian Foreign Minister Sergey Aleinik said at a joint press conference with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov on Wednesday.

"We touched upon our quite successful efforts to resist the strongest full-scale pressure on Russia and Belarus, including illegal sanctions," he said. "It can be cautiously said that the steps taken are producing real and measurable results," Aleinik noted.

He pointed to a rise in trade in goods and services, which hit the $50 bln mark last year. "This was made possible through active work aimed at deepening cooperation, building new production and component supply chains and agreeing on an entire range of projects related to import substitution," the Belarusian foreign minister said.

According to Aleinik, the Union State’s integration programs are 80% complete. "The defense ministries are actively engaged in the implementation of the union programs, dealing with the diplomatic aspects of the process," he added. The top diplomat pointed out that apart from 28 union programs, Belarus and Russia were also working on import substitution projects aimed at ensuring the two countries’ technological sovereignty.

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