Russia and Belarus have reached economic integration agreement and are carrying out military exercises in the Baltic Sea

Presidents Vladimir Putin and Alexandr Lukashenko today closed the economic integration agreement between Russia and Belarus within the framework of their State Union.

Putin explained at a joint press conference in the Kremlin that the goal is to create a “Common economic space” which will include 2023 a single gas market.

“Today I would like to announce with satisfaction that we have agreed 28 programs», He underlined.

These programs include the creation of unique markets in the fields financial and energetic, a common space of transport and common policies in the sectors industrial and agricultural.

In addition, the two countries agreed to integrate their monetary systems and the fight against terrorism, and harmonize their customs and tax laws. “In the end, this (integration) will now give a big boost, a stimulus to the growth of the economy of the two countries”Putin said.

He predicted that the deal will create jobs, It will benefit the business sectors of both countries and increase their export capacity.

Putin said the prime ministers of the two countries will approve the deal tomorrow, Friday, after which these documents will be approved before the end of the year by the Superior Council of the State Union.

Regarding criticism from the opposition and the West that State Union will mean the loss of Belarusian sovereignty, Putin assured that a possible political integration of the two former Soviet republics was not discussed today.

“We must first create a base, an economic foundation. The priority is the economy ”, Putin stressed, although he did not rule out the creation of supranational bodies in the future.

Lukashenko put the brakes on the signing of the State Union at the end of 2019 against the backdrop of improved relations with the West and arguing that the agreement was detrimental to the Belarusian economy, especially in the field of energy.

The negotiations They gathered pace after Lukashenko’s re-election in the August 2020 presidential election sparked the biggest anti-government protests since the fall of the Soviet Union and unanimous condemnation by the West.

Minsk has since sought several credits from Moscow, which has defended Lukashenko tooth and nail against criticism for the violent crackdown on peaceful protests. The first Russian president, Boris Yeltsin, and Lukashenko signed the State Union Agreement on December 8, 1999.

Russia and Belarus begin “Zapad-2021” military exercises

The joint “Zapad-2021” maneuvers, in which around 200,000 soldiers from Russia, Belarus and other countries will participate, started today in the Belarusian industrial park “Obuz-Lesnovski”, as reported by the Russian Defense Ministry.

General Yunus-bek Yevkúrov, Russian Deputy Minister of Defense, was convinced that these maneuvers ensure the security of allied countries and he wished good luck to the soldiers present at the inauguration of “Zapad-2021”.

These exercises They will take place until September 15 in industrial zones in Russia and Belarus and in the southern Baltic Sea area. In maneuvers About 200,000 soldiers, more than 80 planes, up to 750 combat vehicles and 15 ships will participate. On Belarusian territory there will be 12,800 soldiers, including 2,500 Russians.

In addition, as reported by the press service of the Western Military District of the Russian Armed Forces, 500 soldiers from Armenia, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Pakistan and Sri Lanka will also participate in the exercises.

While NATO and the European Union have expressed concern about these exercises organized near their borders, Moscow and Minsk say they have a “strictly defensive” character.

As Belarus Deputy Defense Minister Victor Gulévich said in early August, these maneuvers “They do not represent any threat to the European community or to neighboring countries”,

The Chief of Staff of the Belarusian Armed Forces noted that “Despite the invariable cyclical character” of the maneuvers and “the transparency of the Belarusian side”, “the agitation created around them has already become a kind of tradition”.

Meanwhile, the Polish Prime Minister, Mateusz Morawiecki, warned on Tuesday that these exercises are being carried out at a time when the situation on the border with Belarus is the most tense for “these last 30 years”.

Besides, He called for “reducing the risk of a provocation which serves as an excuse for foreign troops to worsen the situation”.

(With information from EFE)

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