Russia and Belarus are closely cooperating, despite the pandemic of coronavirus infection, which has affected the intensity of contacts between countries, said Chairman of the Federation Council of the Russian Federation Valentina Matvienko in an interview with Rossiyskaya Gazeta. Although the situation with coronavirus affected the intensity of our contacts, translated some of them into an online format, we still maintain high rates of interaction, she said. According to Matvienko, between some regions of Russia and Belarus, trade has grown significantly. In this regard, the need for regular contacts between countries is also growing. According to the news agency, earlier the head of the Federation Council Committee on Regulations Vyacheslav Timchenko said that the forum of the regions of Russia and Belarus will be held in an online format. According to him, the forum participants from the Russian side will work via video link from the building of the Federation Council of the Rus