You're reading: Lukashenko: Belarus will always be one with Russia

Minsk - The time of Russia's misunderstanding Belarus is gone, said Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko.

"Those times are maybe gone, and today there is a totally different understanding of the process in the post-Soviet space. And finally, Russia has simply made up its mind that first it must unite around itself something that was once around it," Lukashenko said at a meeting with St. Petersburg Governor Georgy Poltavchenko in Minsk on Friday.

"There is no need for us to have tensions with Russia. We have always been and always will be one with Russia. There is simply no other way, neither for Russia, nor for us," Lukashenko said.

For his part, the St. Petersburg governor said: "I know that Russian President Vladimir Putin too understands that. No wonder he is planning the first foreign visit to your country. This too, in my view, shows the understanding and desire to build the policy accordingly," Poltavchenko said.

"The closer we cooperate, the more we shall trust one another and build our relations, the easier it will be for us to defend our common interests on the international arena," the governor said.