Minsk-Moscow integration roadmaps don’t jeopardize Belarus’ sovereignty and independence – Lukashenko

<p> MINSK, Sep 1 - PrimePress. The expected approval of union programmes to deepen integration between Belarus and Russia does not threaten sovereignty and independence. President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko made a statement to this effect on 1 September during his working trip to Bobruisk (Mogilev Oblast), the president’s press service said. </p> <p>   </p> <p> “Developed by the governments of Belarus and Russia as "another step in our union-building”, the union programs cover priority areas for the development of bilateral cooperation, Lukashenko emphasized. </p> <p>   </p> <p> “We are not talking about losing sovereignty. We see shortcomings in the Soviet Union, in the European Union. In other words, we can avoid it as we build our relations as part of a union. Today we are so educated and smart that we can build the kind of relations that federated or unitary states don't have without losing the sovereignty of Russia or Belarus,” said Lukashenko. </p> <p>   </p> <p> Lukashenko used the union program on military technology cooperation to elaborate his point of view. “We are two sovereign states but we have already built our relations. We can say we have one army, with the Belarusian army at its heart in the western direction. We’ve built it as sovereign states. This is why there is no need to destroy the sovereignty and independence of countries today,” said Lukashenko. </p> <p>   </p> <p> As previously reported, Belarusian Ambassador to Russia Vladimir Semashko said on 31 August that the union programs to promote Belarusian-Russian integration could be signed at the meeting of the Council of Ministers of Belarus and Russia on 10 September. On 1 September, the Embassy of Belarus in Russia issued a statement “due to the incorrect interpretation of Semashko’s words by some media” to clarify that joint work on union integration programs continued in a constructive manner, its results will be reported to the heads of state, who will discuss them during a face-to-face meeting on 9 September 2021 in Moscow and decide on further steps. </p> <p>   </p> <p> As previously reported, the governments of Belarus and Russia initialled a Union State integration program in September 2019 and approved 31 roadmaps in various areas. Draft roadmaps were expected to be coordinated by November 2020, and Lukashenko and Putin were supposed to approve the entire package of integration documents on December 8, 2019 during the events timed to the 20th anniversary of the Belarus-Russia Union Treaty of December 8, 1999. The signing of the package did not take place. Belarus said that the parties failed to reach accompanying agreements on Russian energy prices, compensation for Belarus’ losses resulted from the tax manoeuvre in the Russian oil industry, and removal of barriers to Belarusian commodities in the Russian market. Lukashenko said he would not endorse the roadmaps unless the above fundamental issues are finally resolved. </p> <p>   </p> <p> In 2021 the roadmaps were renamed “union programmes” and their number was reduced to 28. Earlier, during the “Big Talk with the President” on August 9, President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko informed that Moscow and Minsk had only one outstanding roadmap for integration to sign and it was about oil and gas cooperation. Lukashenko emphasized that Belarus still counted on equalizing prices of energy resources in the framework of the Belarus-Russia Union. End </p>

2021-09-02

Primepress