MINSK, June 4 /TASS/. Russia and Belarus should mount common efforts to stop a decline in trade and economic relations, which is a consequence of the negative world economic situation, Valentina Matviyenko, the speaker of the Russian Federation Council upper house of parliament, said on Saturday.

"There many objective and subjective factors, including the devaluation of our currencies, that have caused the current decrease in trade volumes. But the most important thing is a complicated world economic situation," Matviyenko said in the "Kartina Mira" (Picture of the World) program on the RTR-Belarus TV channel.

"Our trade turnover has fallen by 15%. But I would not say that it’s very painful. We know what we should do to correct the situation," she added.

"We cannot say that over the 25 years of construction of the Union State we have created a single state but we have created a very integrated system and economy. "Our common economic ties have become a stabilizer, which prevented the situation in the economies from getting worse," Matviyenko stressed. "Despite the hardship and difficulties, which are being experienced by our state companies, businesses, and our citizens, the economies of Russia and Belarus have not collapsed," Matviyenko stressed.

The speaker believes that the current problems are temporary. "We have potential to build up not only reciprocal trade but diversify this trade and go ahead with our cooperation in the form of joint projects," she concluded.