Krutoi names key topics discussed at Union State Supreme State Council meeting
02.03.2026
MINSK (
BelTA) – Record trade turnover between Belarus and Russia, deeper integration of the two countries’ economies, and agricultural matters were among the key topics discussed at the Union State Supreme State Council meeting, Head of the Belarus President Administration Dmitry Krutoi said in an interview with the First News TV Channel.
Dmitry Krutoi noted that a businesslike atmosphere prevailed during the recent meeting of the Supreme State Council in Moscow. “The atmosphere was very constructive and businesslike. This year, there were practically no pressing issues that could have caused tension, nothing particularly sensitive. Extensive preliminary work had been carried out before the Supreme State Council meeting, so the presidents were essentially finalizing decisions on matters already prepared by the Union State Council of Ministers or relevant industry regulators. There were only a few such items, but we succeeded in conveying the most critical points to the leaders and received their guidance on next steps for 2026. Naturally, a lot of time was devoted to trade turnover, as trade is, after all, a key economic indicator. Last year, it was up by 5.5 %, or $3 billion. The total figure is $55 billion, another all-time high. Over five years, there has been an increase of 37 %, or almost $16 billion. There was an interesting comparison with the People’s Republic of China: In terms of population, Belarus and China differ by a factor of 140, but in terms of trade with Russia, only by a factor of four. Our Russian colleagues noted that Belarus consistently ranks among the top five most important trading partners of the Russian Federation, which is also very important for us,” said the head of the Belarus President Administration.
During the Supreme State Council meeting, the presidents of Belarus and Russia discussed areas for economic integration between the two countries. “The main focus, the bulk of the discussion, was on areas that constitute, as our presidents figuratively put it, the framework of our integration, as well as efforts to make our economic cooperation more smooth. This is primarily related to automation systems. The main one is the integrated system for administering indirect taxes, including VAT and excise taxes. This is essentially the core of our integration, the economic core, the primary purpose for which this supranational tax committee was created. And it is this system that should demonstrate the highest level of trust in the economic and foreign trade transactions carried out between our countries and between our economic entities,” noted Dmitry Krutoi.
The second important item on the agenda was the product tracking and tracing system. “We agreed that it will be launched on 1 May 2026 for a pilot set of goods. These primarily include household appliances, namely refrigerators, freezers, and washing machines. Household appliances are a segment susceptible to non-transparent, gray schemes that arose as part of parallel imports in the wake of the events of 2022. We are launching this tracking and tracing system with the Russians in order to gradually phase out these parallel imports and transition them to a more civilized system. Of course, the list and range of goods will be expanded. The same pertains to the labeling system. Last year, our operators experienced some bottlenecks in this system, including failures in the timely transmission of these codes. Thankfully, all these issues have been resolved. And so, as a third tool, the labeling system is also being launched,” Dmitry Krutoi said.
In addition, at the Supreme State Council meeting, the two heads of state heard reports on the agricultural sector. “They highlighted two important elements: veterinary and phytosanitary control. The alignment of the two countries’ phytosanitary systems allowed us to remove the troubling issue of quarantine products from our agenda last year, when there were mutual accusations that our lists of products prohibited for import into either the Republic of Belarus or the Russian Federation did not match. And this electronic alignment of the Russian Argus-Fito system and our BELFITO system allowed us to remove the issue of quarantine products from the agenda. And the presidents noted that this is a good example of how to move forward,” noted Dmitry Krutoi.
He added that the heads of state set the task for this year to resolve the issue in a similar manner for the veterinary sector, i.e., for the supply of dairy and meat products. I think that if the veterinary component is fully operational this year, this problem will also be solved. In other words, I believe six key information systems have been developed and launched, some are in pilot mode, others are already fully operational. They would become precisely the framework that would make export-import flows between our countries completely transparent,” the head of the Belarus President Administration emphasized.
Dmitry Krutoi noted that a businesslike atmosphere prevailed during the recent meeting of the Supreme State Council in Moscow. “The atmosphere was very constructive and businesslike. This year, there were practically no pressing issues that could have caused tension, nothing particularly sensitive. Extensive preliminary work had been carried out before the Supreme State Council meeting, so the presidents were essentially finalizing decisions on matters already prepared by the Union State Council of Ministers or relevant industry regulators. There were only a few such items, but we succeeded in conveying the most critical points to the leaders and received their guidance on next steps for 2026. Naturally, a lot of time was devoted to trade turnover, as trade is, after all, a key economic indicator. Last year, it was up by 5.5 %, or $3 billion. The total figure is $55 billion, another all-time high. Over five years, there has been an increase of 37 %, or almost $16 billion. There was an interesting comparison with the People’s Republic of China: In terms of population, Belarus and China differ by a factor of 140, but in terms of trade with Russia, only by a factor of four. Our Russian colleagues noted that Belarus consistently ranks among the top five most important trading partners of the Russian Federation, which is also very important for us,” said the head of the Belarus President Administration.
During the Supreme State Council meeting, the presidents of Belarus and Russia discussed areas for economic integration between the two countries. “The main focus, the bulk of the discussion, was on areas that constitute, as our presidents figuratively put it, the framework of our integration, as well as efforts to make our economic cooperation more smooth. This is primarily related to automation systems. The main one is the integrated system for administering indirect taxes, including VAT and excise taxes. This is essentially the core of our integration, the economic core, the primary purpose for which this supranational tax committee was created. And it is this system that should demonstrate the highest level of trust in the economic and foreign trade transactions carried out between our countries and between our economic entities,” noted Dmitry Krutoi.
The second important item on the agenda was the product tracking and tracing system. “We agreed that it will be launched on 1 May 2026 for a pilot set of goods. These primarily include household appliances, namely refrigerators, freezers, and washing machines. Household appliances are a segment susceptible to non-transparent, gray schemes that arose as part of parallel imports in the wake of the events of 2022. We are launching this tracking and tracing system with the Russians in order to gradually phase out these parallel imports and transition them to a more civilized system. Of course, the list and range of goods will be expanded. The same pertains to the labeling system. Last year, our operators experienced some bottlenecks in this system, including failures in the timely transmission of these codes. Thankfully, all these issues have been resolved. And so, as a third tool, the labeling system is also being launched,” Dmitry Krutoi said.
In addition, at the Supreme State Council meeting, the two heads of state heard reports on the agricultural sector. “They highlighted two important elements: veterinary and phytosanitary control. The alignment of the two countries’ phytosanitary systems allowed us to remove the troubling issue of quarantine products from our agenda last year, when there were mutual accusations that our lists of products prohibited for import into either the Republic of Belarus or the Russian Federation did not match. And this electronic alignment of the Russian Argus-Fito system and our BELFITO system allowed us to remove the issue of quarantine products from the agenda. And the presidents noted that this is a good example of how to move forward,” noted Dmitry Krutoi.
He added that the heads of state set the task for this year to resolve the issue in a similar manner for the veterinary sector, i.e., for the supply of dairy and meat products. I think that if the veterinary component is fully operational this year, this problem will also be solved. In other words, I believe six key information systems have been developed and launched, some are in pilot mode, others are already fully operational. They would become precisely the framework that would make export-import flows between our countries completely transparent,” the head of the Belarus President Administration emphasized.