Russian president Vladimir Putin received letters of credence from the newly-appointed foreign ambassadors, including Belarusian diplomat Uladzimir Syamashka.
In the course of the event, Putin called Belarus ‘Russia’s closest ally’ and took the opportunity to congratulate the Belarusian people on Independence Day.
“This year, numerous events are being held dedicated to the 20th anniversary of the Union State. We are committed to the further development of close integration with our Belarusian partners. This topic will be discussed at the talks with president of Belarus scheduled to take place on the sidelines of the 6thForum of Regions of Belarus and Russia on July 18 in St Petersburg,” kremlin.ru quotes the Russian leader.
Interestingly, a day earlier, Alyaksandr Lukashenka stated that he would be against both joining NATO and the access to Russia.
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At the end of 2018, the Belarusian-Russian relations significantly deteriorated. In late December. there were some meetings of Alyaksandr Lukashenka and Vladimir Putin. The Russian leader pressed for ‘further integration’ while his Belarusian counterpart insisted on reducing gas prices and getting compensation for the tax maneuver.
On December 25, Lukashenka and Putin agreed to establish a working group on the integration within the Union State. Later, the leaders of Belarus and Russia repeatedly got back to the subject.
On May 29, during the meeting in Nur-Sultan, Vladimir Putin and Alyaksandr Lukashenka discussed the prospects of the integration process. According to Putin’s press secretary Dmitry Peskov, the leaders instructed the governments to develop integration measures by the end of June.
On June 4, Belarus’ Prime Minister Syarhei Rumas and State Secretary of the Union State Grigory Rapota met in Minsk to discuss an action plan on integration. The document needs to be prepared by 21 June. However, the details of the negotiations remain under wraps. For example, the government refused to disclose any information to opposition MPs Alena Anisim and Hanna Kanapatskaya. Oddly, Belarusian Foreign Minister Uladzimir Makey remained tight-lipped about the talks saying that it would be ‘premature’.
Meanwhile, opposition activists who believe that our country does not need the Union State, have launched the public campaign ‘Belarus Go!’ They are collecting signatures for our country’s withdrawal from the alliance.
ІІ belsat.eu
