On the 16th of October President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko held a press conference for Russian regional mass media.

       The press conference of the head of state traditionally concluded the press tour of Russian journalists in Belarus.
       This year, the press tour involved 90 journalists from 80 Russian media of 48 federal districts of Russia.
Addressing Russian journalists Alexander Lukashenko said:
        “Over the past decade, we have witnessed many, I would even say, momentous events in the life of our nations. Our countries have passed a difficult way over this relatively short period of time. There was everything from sharp disputes, even conflicts between Russia and Belarus to brotherly support in very difficult moments of history. Most importantly is that we have made sure that Belarus and Russia cannot do without each other in this turbulent and ever-competitive world. Nobody wants to see our countries strong and independent but we ourselves.
        The competition today is intense as ever. The mighty of the world flout all the rules, written and unwritten. Therefore the Belarusians and Russians are simply forced to fight for their place under the sun, a decent place, which our peoples certainly deserve. Life has already proved that together we can achieve anything.
       The process of construction of the Union State of Belarus and Russia should be seen as an absolutely right and far-seeing step. I should say that as for today this process is the most advanced in the post-Soviet space. We have not made such progress even in the Single Economic Space. The relations in the Belarusian-Russian union are considerably deeper. It is a truly unique integration association”.