Minsk, Moscow may sign all integration roadmaps in Sep-Oct – ambassador
<p> MINSK, Apr 28 - PrimePress. Belarus and Russia may complete the process of signing roadmaps for deeper integration within the Union State in September-October 2021, Belarus’ Ambassador to Russia Vladimir Semashko told reporters in Yekaterinburg on 27 April. </p> <p> </p> <p> In March 2021, Belarusian Ambassador to Russia Vladimir Semashko said that three roadmaps - one on unification of tax legislation and two on customs regulations - had merged into one, leaving a total of 28. He said that 21 maps were ready for signing and suggested that the countries would fully complete the work in this direction in “a month or two”. </p> <p> </p> <p> “I used to assume that the remaining two roadmaps could also be signed in May. Now I see that the matter may be shifted to September-October,” TASS reports citing Semashko as saying. </p> <p> </p> <p> Semashko believes that “a consensus or a compromise will be found - a trendy word now” for the signing of the remaining integration roadmaps. "I am convinced that this year [the roadmaps – editor’s note] will be signed. And, in this way, we will finally solve the main task, we will go to create a single economic platform,” he said. </p> <p> </p> <p> While meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on April 22, President Lukashenko said there were only two or three union programmes of economic nature remaining for Belarus and Russia to reconcile. In his words, in the summer of 2021 we will hold a Forum of Belarus and Russia’s regions in Moscow Oblast. “Then we will decide on a meeting of the Supreme State Council in autumn, where we will be able to formalize all our agreements by signing certain documents,” Lukashenko said. </p> <p> </p> <p> As previously reported, the governments of Belarus and Russia initialed 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. End </p>
2021-04-29
Primepress
Minsk, Moscow may sign all integration roadmaps in Sep-Oct – ambassador
MINSK, Apr 28 - PrimePress. Belarus and Russia may complete the process of signing roadmaps for deeper integration within the Union State in September-October 2021, Belarus’ Ambassador to Russia Vladimir Semashko told reporters in Yekaterinburg on 27 April.
In March 2021, Belarusian Ambassador to Russia Vladimir Semashko said that three roadmaps - one on unification of tax legislation and two on customs regulations - had merged into one, leaving a total of 28. He said that 21 maps were ready for signing and suggested that the countries would fully complete the work in this direction in “a month or two”.
“I used to assume that the remaining two roadmaps could also be signed in May. Now I see that the matter may be shifted to September-October,” TASS reports citing Semashko as saying.
Semashko believes that “a consensus or a compromise will be found - a trendy word now” for the signing of the remaining integration roadmaps. "I am convinced that this year [the roadmaps – editor’s note] will be signed. And, in this way, we will finally solve the main task, we will go to create a single economic platform,” he said.
While meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on April 22, President Lukashenko said there were only two or three union programmes of economic nature remaining for Belarus and Russia to reconcile. In his words, in the summer of 2021 we will hold a Forum of Belarus and Russia’s regions in Moscow Oblast. “Then we will decide on a meeting of the Supreme State Council in autumn, where we will be able to formalize all our agreements by signing certain documents,” Lukashenko said.
As previously reported, the governments of Belarus and Russia initialed 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. End