Prime ministers of Belarus, Russia discuss access to markets without exemptions, restrictions

According to Roman Golovchenko, a number of items of interest for the Belarusian side were on agenda of the talks. Both sides confirmed Belarus-Russia trade had been reduced primarily due to a lower output and the disruption of manufacturing and distribution chains because of the coronavirus pandemic. “Markets are recovering now. Our enterprises are working hard to resume deliveries,” Roman Golovchenko noted. “Nevertheless, there is a number of problems that act like barriers and restrictions for Belarusian enterprises. This is why I raised the issue before my colleague today. We laid down our arguments in quite a detail. We are going to discuss the matter later on within the framework of the Union State of Belarus and Russia and within the framework of the Eurasian Economic Union.”

Roman Golovchenko continued: “We believe that access to each other's markets without restrictions and exemptions, without barriers is a fundamental condition for operation of any association, including the Union State of Belarus and Russia and the Eurasian Economic Union.”

Roman Golovchenko also said that the formation of terms for delivering energy resources to Belarus in years to come had been discussed during the meeting. “We've agreed that this work will be continued within the framework of expert groups. We've taken care of the matter of oil deliveries in 2020,” he said.