Belarus asks Russia to accelerate economic support
Belarusian Prime Minister Roman Golovchenko has requested that his Russian counterpart, Mikhail Mishustin, accelerate economic support plans that were to be implemented at a later date, Interfax reported.
“Given the high vulnerability of the Belarusian economy to external shocks, we are counting on the support of the Russian Federation in this difficult state,” Golovchenko stated after a meeting with Mishustin.
Golovchenko specifically called for delaying the restructuring of Belarusian debt, transitioning to a new pricing system for Russian oil imports, and fixing natural gas prices in Russian rubles, pegged to Russian domestic prices.
During the meeting, Golovchenko and Mushustin confirmed their commitment to a union state and reiterated the importance of economic cooperation to help offset sanctions.
"We are taking coordinated measures to protect our economic security and the technological sovereignty of Russia and Belarus," Mishustin stated. “Above all, we consider it necessary to strengthen integration in the union state.”
While the Belarusian military has not been directly involved in the invasion of Ukraine, the country has provided logistical and moral support to Russia, including allowing the Russian military to station troops and stage attacks from Belarusian territory. Such actions have prompted the West to impose substantial sanctions on Minsk.