MOSCOW - In a letter to his Belarus counterpart Alexander Lukashenko, Russian President Vladimir Putin hailed the growing integration between the two countries on Saturday as they move toward closer strategic union and a shared currency.
"I feel the deepening of cooperation and integration is in the interest of Russia and Belarus and will help our joint socio-economic success," said Putin
"We have a tradition of friendship, we are on neighbourly terms and share a trust that has been tried and tested over the years and been passed down from generation to generation," added Putin.
Authoritarian-ruled Belarus is one of the few close allies remaining to Moscow among the former Soviet republics. Deeply dependent on Russia for oil and gas supplies, it is linked to its larger neighbor by a union treaty, and is preparing to adopt the ruble as a common currency next year.
04/02/2005 16:41 GMT