(Reuters) – Russia and Belarus believe it is necessary to boost cooperation in their union state in the face of Western sanctions, the TASS news agency cited Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin as saying on Monday.
RIA cited Belarusian Prime Minister Roman Golovchenko as saying Minsk was counting on Russia’s support.
The two Slav neighbours are formally part of a “union state” and have been in talks for years to move closer together, a process that accelerated after Russian President Vladimir Putin propped up Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko in 2020 when his rule was threatened by months of mass street protests.
(Reporting by Reuters; Editing by Gareth Jones)
