Vladimir Putin: in 2007 trade turnover between Belarus, Russia should reach $24 billion

Belarus and Russia continue boosting the mutual trade. In 2007 the trade turnover between Belarus and Russia should reach a record high $24 billion, President of Russia Vladimir Putin said on December 14 during his face-to-face meeting with Belarusian head of state Alexander Lukashenko. “This is a good index,” Vladimir Putin considers. The Russian leader thanked Alexander Lukashenko for the opportunity to hold a session of the Union State Supreme State Council in Minsk. According to him, the successful settlement of socio-economic issues in Belarus and Russia makes it possible to achieve more positive results in mutual relations. “The volume of our relations, their scope and diversification make any kind of official meetings unnecessary. But anyway we need to get down to discusssing official issues some time too,” said Vladimir Putin. According to him, a whole range of bilateral relations will be discussed during his visit to Belarus. The President of Russia expressed confidence the talks would be successful.