Russia's unambiguous support for Belarus in Sochi pointed out

The official said: “The meeting of the presidents of Belarus and Russia in Sochi was very positive. The most important thing is that the Russian president clearly expressed support for the president of Belarus. Vladimir Putin once again congratulated Aleksandr Lukashenko on the convincing victory at the presidential election and stressed that Russia recognizes the election as valid and recognizes that a majority of the Belarusian people voted for Aleksandr Lukashenko. Russia also confirms guarantees of Belarus' sovereignty in case some extraordinary events happen.”

“In this difficult situation Russia will also help Belarus from the point of view of economy,” the expert continued. “We know that the Belarusian opposition now calls for breaking the Belarusian economy in order to make people poor. Russia will not allow the destruction of the Belarusian economy. Vladimir Putin clearly stated it.”

Sergei Markov believes that during the meeting the presidents talked about the need to set up a common market without exemptions. “Belarus has been demanding for so long that Belarusian companies should get oil and natural gas on the terms Russian companies enjoy,” the expert pointed out. “Apart from that, it is now necessary to pursue a common customs policy so that we would have genuinely common economic space.”