"It was one of the most effective meetings held in correspondence with the guidelines of our integration", Likashenko said.
He noted that, in preparing the meeting, "the right concept had been found", which in great measure determined the success of the talks.
The Belarussian leader made special noted of the economic component in the talks. "Belarus is second in trade with the Russian Federation, actually on a par with Germany. The volume of bilateral trade has exceeded 17 billion dollars' worth, increasing by over 40 percent over the past year", the Belarussian leader said.
Moscow is a case apart in the economic contacts between the two countries, Lukashenko said. The mayor of Moscow, Yuri Luzhkov, has done everything necessary for the development of mutually beneficial trade with Belarus, Lukashenko added.
One of the key results of the Sochi meeting he called agreement on preserving the natural gas tariffs for Belarus in 2006 at the 2005 level. "For our part, our republic will preserve maximally agreeable conditions for the further development and buildup of Russian gas transportation via Belarus", Lukashenko said.
He added that "the Belarussian side is ready to grant Gazprom the required preferences for the development of the gas transport infrastructure in the territory of our republic". Herein lies obvious mutual benefit for both Russians and Belarussians.
The Belarussian government is ready to interact with Gazprom in building the second thread of the Yamal-Europe gas pipeline, Lukashenko said.
