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KIEV, 12 August (BelTA) - Belarus hopes the trade with Ukraine will be restored to the previous high levels, Belarus Minister of Foreign Affairs Vladimir Makei said after the talks with his Ukrainian counterpart Pavlo Klimkin, BelTA has learned.

Vladimir Makei noted that the parties have given special attention to the issues of trade and economic cooperation and the ways to overcome the obstacles that hamper the bilateral trade. “Unfortunately, this year our trade has decreased. Recently the mixed intergovernmental commission had a session to identify the ways to overcome these obstacles and to remedy the situation. We hope that the protocol which was signed after the session of the commission will be implemented and all the proposals contained in the protocol will help enhance our trade and economic cooperation,” the minister said.

In the fat years, the Belarusian-Ukrainian trade was about $8 billion. "Unfortunately, last year it fell to $6 billion, and this year it went down by another 50%," said Vladimir Makei. According to him, it was the reason why the countries intensified the contacts at various levels, including between companies.

"I do not think that the situation is tragic. I think it is manageable. The thorough discussion of these issues at the meeting of the international commission in Chernigov on 24 July indicates that both sides are interested in rectifying the situation,” said Vladimir Makei.

He added that the protocol which was signed after the meeting of the commission contains specific proposals in this regard. In particular, it was decided to prepare roadmaps in industry, industrial cooperation, energy saving, energy efficiency, transport and logistics. "We hope that these concrete proposals will help if not restore the previous level of trade but at least slow down the fall, and remedy the current situation in the future," the minister said, noting that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will provide adequate support.

According to Vladimir Makei, the meeting also discussed the prospects of cooperation, considering the fact that Ukraine has signed an association agreement with the European Union and Belarus is a member of the Eurasian Economic Union. "We in no way believe that these things are mutually exclusive. On the contrary, we believe that in this situation we need to look for mutually-uniting bases, mutually acceptable points for the future, primarily in trade and economic cooperation. And we do not intend to make any emotional steps which will undermine the trade and economic cooperation. On the contrary, we are ready to discuss openly and frankly all issues that may occur, with a view to overcoming these problems and reaching a new level of trade and economic cooperation between our countries,” said Minister of Foreign Affairs of Belarus.