Union State turns 20. Lukashenka still pushes for expanding cooperation with Russia
Belarus-Russia cooperation should be further expanded, Alyaksandr Lukashenka said in his Tuesday’s iddress on the occasion of the Day of Unity of the Peoples of Belarus and Russia. This year marks the 20 anniversary of the Union State Treaty.
According to him, the Union State offers ‘tangible benefits’ to millions of Belarusians and Russians, i.e. freedom of movement and employment, social benefits, equal access to medical care and education. The two countrues keep pursuing a ‘coordinated’ foreign policy and successfully rise up to modern-day challenges and threats, Lukashenka stressed.
In his view, in order to withstand the increasing global competition, rising protectionism and isolationism, Belarus and Russia should promote their integration and decisively remove ‘artificial barriers and restrictions in the economy’, and implement ambitious projects.
On 2 April 1996, Boris Yeltsin and Alyaksandr Lukashenka reached the agreement on establishing the Commonwealth of Belarus and Russia; the basis of the union was strengthened on 2 April 1997, with the signing of the Treaty on the Union between Belarus and Russia. The Treaty on the Creation of a Union State of Russia and Belarus was signed and ratified by the parties in 1999.
However, many Belarusians share the opinion that our country does not need the Union State; Hanna Kanapatskaya, a deputy of the lower chamber of the Belarusian parliament, has recently called the project ‘a stillborn child’. According to the lawmaker, a referendum in Belarus might close the door on the Union State.
