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Belarus and Russia move towards full-fledged union — new envoy to Moscow

One of the most significant aims is to rise the supply of Belarusian goods to Russia

MINSK, August 1. /TASS/. Belarus and Russia have moved from the stage of strategic partnership to a full-fledged alliance in terms of politics, new Belarusian ambassador to Russia Dmitry Krutoy told reporters on Monday.

"Our priority is the economy. In terms of politics, we've actually turned from the stage of a strategic partnership to a full-fledged union," the BelTA news agency quoted Krutoy as saying, "All that is left is to fill the political content with concrete economic results."

According to him, the Belarusian president aims to reorient exports of about half of the previously supplied to the EU and Ukraine to Russia, the most important thing is to increase the supply of Belarusian goods to Russia. "The first thing is, of course, the turnover. That $15 billion of our export, which used to go to the European Union and Ukraine, we have to re-orient to the East," the diplomat said. He added that Russia has a "key place" in this issue. "The government's plans: $4-5 billion, and the president is targeting a figure of $6-8 billion, it must be reoriented to the Russian market," Krutoy stressed.

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