Belarus is trying to improve product sales bypassing Moscow

Some tension in bilateral relations with Russia have urged the Belarusian government to develop relations with Russian regions. Since early 2015, leaders and delegations from four Russian regions – Ingushetia, Udmurtia, Chuvashia and the Chelyabinsk region visited Minsk. Each time, inter alia, state supplies of Belarusian products to these regions have been discussed. Direct contacts with the Russian regions could boost overall Belarusian exports to Russia, however such cooperation should not be too efficient in the eyes of the Kremlin, otherwise the latter will hamper rapprochement between Belarus and Russian governors.