MINSK, July 02. /ITAR-TASS/. The glorious traditions of brotherhood, mutual assistance and unity shown during the 1941-1945 Great Patriotic War should continue to serve as the basis for further development of Russian-Belarusian allied relations, President Vladimir Putin said.

“Russia and Belarus will continue to strengthen good neighbourly ties within the Union State. New great opportunities for strengthening mutual integration will be created by the Eurasian Economic Union Treaty which will enter into force on January 1, 2015,” Putin said during the opening ceremony at the new building of the Belarusian State Museum of History of the Great Patriotic War in Minsk on Wednesday, July 2.

He is convinced that the stability and prosperity of the two countries, “the unity of the people of Russia and Belarus is what the heroes of the Great Patriotic War were fighting for”.

“Let our glorious glorious traditions of brotherhood, mutual assistance and unity provide the solid basis for the development of Russian-Belarusian ties and allied relations,” Putin said.

He expressed confidence that the exhibition in the museum will help to bring up the young generation and tell it about “the real heroes who defended the Motherland and fought for its freedom and independence”.

“It is very important to bring up in young people a strong rejection of the ideas of Nazism so that it would never raise its head again,” he said.

 

Economic cooperation 

Russia and Belarus will continue economic cooperation which is already bearing fruit, Putin said.

“As for our cooperation, we are pooling our efforts and will continue to do so in the future,” he said.

Putin noted that hard times in the development of the Russian and Belarusian economies and the global economy in general would pass. “Our joint efforts towards economic integration are certainly bearing fruit and will do even more so, and we will change not only the size of our economies but also their quality,” he said.

“The Eurasian Economic Union will become operational very soon, in half a year, and this will undoubtedly be another step forward in consolidating the efforts of our people and our states,” he said.

Putin thanked Lukashenko for the invitation to attend celebrations marking the 70th anniversary of the liberation of Belarus from the Nazi invaders and congratulated him and the Belarusian people in this occasion.