Editing Foreign relations of Belarus (section)

===Belarus–Russia relations===
{{further|Foreign relations of Russia towards Belarus}}
The introduction of [[free trade]] between Russia and Belarus in mid-1995 led to a spectacular growth in bilateral trade, which was only temporarily reversed in the wake of the [[History of post-Soviet Russia#The crises of 1998|financial crisis of 1998]]. President [[Alexander Lukashenko]] sought to develop a closer relationship with Russia. The framework for the Union of Russia and Belarus was set out in the Treaty on the Formation of a Community of Russia and Belarus (1996), the Treaty on Russia-Belarus Union, the Union Charter (1997), and the Treaty of the Formation of a Union State (1999). The integration treaties contained commitments to [[monetary union]], [[civil rights|equal rights]], single citizenship, and a common defence and [[foreign policy]].