A minister of Belarus, who is allied with Russia, responded to an NHK exclusive interview and revealed that he would like to strengthen cooperation with Russia and strengthen economic ties with China and India to counter Western sanctions.
Alexey Bogdanov, Minister of Anti-Monopoly Regulation and Commerce, who is a cabinet member of the Lukashenko administration in Belarus and is in charge of economic policies such as price measures, responded to an exclusive interview with NHK in the capital Minsk on the 15th.
In it, Bogdanov said, "Many efforts are underway to integrate the economies of Russia and Belarus. In difficult times, we will unite, invent new export routes, overcome negative influences from unfriendly countries. We will take all possible measures to prevent it," he said, emphasizing that he is deepening economic ties with Russia as the United States and Europe impose sanctions one after another.
On that basis, while acknowledging that trade with the EU = European Union has fallen significantly due to sanctions, he said, "The world is not just about Western countries that impose sanctions on us. China, India, etc. are in a different position from the West. The emphasis is shifting to the east side," he said, revealing his desire to strengthen economic ties with China, India and other Asian countries.
"Belarus is ready to provide everything necessary for the resumption of peace talks on the Ukraine issue," Bogdanov said, referring to Russia's military aggression against Ukraine.
However, there is persistent skepticism about Belarus, which is an ally of Russia, acting as an intermediary.