In an interview with Rossiiskaya Gazeta, the Ambassador of Belarus to Russia Uladzimir Siamashka said that there are currently being created prerequisites for a new consideration of previously prepared documents on the deepening of Belarusian-Russian integration.
Mr Siamashka notes that last year, Moscow and Minsk worked hard on new integration documents — the program of actions of the two countries to implement the Union State Treaty and road maps to this program. But since the issues of energy and the abolition of barriers were not resolved, the heads of state did not sign the package of integration documents.
“Today, the governments of the two countries are reaching certain agreements to resolve the situation that has developed in our relations at the beginning of this year. This is a good signal. Solution of problematic issues of the bilateral interaction creates prerequisites to return to consideration of the documents worked out to deepen our integration,” the Belarusian Ambassador stressed.
“But it is already obvious that the road maps will have to be updated, as the terms of implementation of the integration stages laid down in them were initially very tight. For example, by the middle of this year it was planned to form a unified legislation in a number of areas. Today it is obvious that it will not be done in the stipulated terms. And the situation in our region and the world as a whole, which has developed in recent days and weeks, makes us rethink some elements of cooperation and adjust them to bring them to the current realities,” said Siamashka.
- Negotiations on deeper integration of Belarus and Russia began in late 2018. On September 6, 2019, Prime Ministers of the two countries Siarhey Rumas and Dmitry Medvedev agreed on a draft action program to deepen integration and a list of road maps. From September till December the governments took time to agree on concrete road maps to transfer them for signing to heads of the states. It was expected that the meeting of the Supreme State Council of the Union State would be held on December 8, where Alyaksandr Lukashenka and Vladimir Putin would sign the new integration program, which includes 31 road maps. However, the signing of integration documents has never taken place.
- The full list of all road maps has never been published, as well as details of the integration documents. In 2019, the Belarusian authorities stressed in every possible way that the integration talks do not concern the creation of supranational bodies and political integration. Only in December, after the disruption of the Supreme State Council of the Union State in Moscow, Lukashenka told about the 31st map. “There is the so-called 31st road map — a plan to build supranational bodies. Parliament, perhaps there will be a President, etc.” said Lukashenka in an interview with Echo of Moscow.
- Lukashenka had to talk about the 31st road map after Medvedev mentioned it. On December 23, Russian Prime Minister said that the 31st map touched upon the issues of supranational bodies, single currency and a single emission center. In the interview with Echo of Moscow Lukashenka stressed that he and Putin had agreed not to talk about this issue yet, while the rest of the maps were not linked to the 31st map.
