Russian premier meets Belarusian, Kyrgyz counterparts in Yerevan

By Burc Eruygur

ISTANBUL (AA) - Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin on Tuesday met with his Belarusian and Kyrgyz counterparts in Armenia's capital Yerevan, where he arrived to take part in events on the sidelines of the 3rd Eurasian Economic Forum.

Ahead of a meeting with Belarusian Prime Minister Roman Golovchenko, Mishustin said that both Moscow and Minsk are actively working to implement a decision taken at the presidential level at a meeting of the Supreme State Council of the Union State in January.

“In this way, we are accelerating work in all the main areas of implementing the Treaty on the Union State for the next three years,” Mishustin said.

Russia and Belarus are formally part of a union state founded under a 1999 treaty, under which they have worked to move closer, a process that has accelerated in recent years.

Both countries are prioritizing strengthening trade and economic cooperation, Mishustin said, expressing that they are also working on new proposals within their joint work in the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU).

For his part, Golovchenko conveyed his country’s readiness to discuss preparations for the upcoming Supreme State Council meeting and current trade, economic, and humanitarian work between Russia and Belarus.

Mishustin later held talks with Kyrgyz Prime Minister Akylbek Japarov, during which he underlined Moscow’s interest in expanding bilateral trade and economic cooperation.

He also proposed to accelerate the launch of new joint projects in the fields of transport, logistics, industrial and rural cooperation, and the digital economy.

Meanwhile, Japarov defined Russia as Kyrgyzstan’s closest ally and a reliable strategic partner.

Mishustin arrived in Yerevan earlier on Tuesday, where he attended the plenary session of the 3rd Eurasian Economic Forum.

The Russian premier is also scheduled to participate in a meeting of the Eurasian Intergovernmental Council led by the heads of government of the EAEU, an economic union established in 2014 and consists of five post-Soviet states -- Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Russia.​​​​​​​