Moscow, March 14 (IANS) The integration process between Belarus and Russia must become irreversible, visiting Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said Friday.
Lukashenko called the integration a “historic mission” that “will be accomplished with dignity” as he addressed the Russian Federation Council, the upper house of parliament.
He noted that Russia and Belarus could form a single parliament if both countries were prepared.
While discussing the possibility of Belarus becoming part of Russia, Lukashenko said such a move was “unlikely to happen in the near future.”
“We must proceed calmly, step by step … as we are doing now,” he added, Xinhua news agency reported.
Lukashenko met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Thursday, where they discussed bilateral ties and prospects for integration within the Union State, among other issues.
Earlier, Lukashenko had said that he supported the idea of building a plant to produce Russian drones in Belarus.
Visiting BelExpo National Exhibition Centre last week, where Russian UAVs for monitoring terrain and agriculture, and cargo drones were exhibited, Lukashenko praised Russian specialists for the results achieved in the development and production of drones.
The Belarusian leader said that Russia demonstrates good results in developing and producing UAVs.
At the exhibition, the Deputy Chief of Staff of the Presidential Executive Office of Russia, Maxim Oreshkin, said the Russian side is proposing that Belarus build an enterprise that could produce up to 100,000 drones annually.
In February, the Belarusian Central Election Commission had officially declared Lukashenko as the winner in the latest presidential elections with 86.82 per cent of the votes.
The presidential elections were held in Belarus on January 26. The turnout was 85.69 per cent.
Under Belarusian law, a presidential candidate who secures more than 50 per cent of the vote is declared the winner.
Lukashenko was first elected President of Belarus in 1994. He was later re-elected in 2001, 2006, 2010, 2015 and 2020.
–IANS
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