Members of the European Parliament (EP) are trying to negatively influence the interstate dialogue between Moscow and Minsk. This was announced on Thursday, October 7, by the State Secretary of the Union State Dmitry Mezentsev.
Thus, he commented on the resolution on Belarus adopted by the European parliamentarians on Thursday, which, among other things, condemns the negotiations between Moscow and Minsk on the preparation of union integration programs.
According to Mezentsev, this document is an act of interference in the internal affairs of Russia and Belarus.
“It is obvious that the European Parliament should consider topical issues of the development and strengthening of relations within the European Union, which in its own way is a response to modern challenges and threats. There is no reason to believe that the competence of European parliamentarians extends to plans and strategic tasks that Russia and Belarus independently define for themselves as independent and sovereign states, “RIA Novosti quotes him.
In addition, the diplomat emphasized that statements about the prospects for violating the sovereignty of Belarus have nothing to do with reality.
“This is an unworthy example of the simplification of the practice of international dialogue, if not its marginalization, which by no means helps to strengthen confidence in Western partners,” said the Secretary of State of the Union State.
He is convinced that the resolution of the European Parliament only enhances the significance and scale of joint decisions of the two states on economic integration.
Mezentsev recalled that the peoples of Russia and Belarus “value the memory of the common past, the heroic efforts of the older generations who defeated Nazism, remember the feat of the Victory soldiers who liberated Europe, value the current interaction and cooperation.”
“It is fundamentally impossible to agree with such approaches of European parliamentarians, which in fact lead to the destruction of the traditions of respect for the right of sovereign states to determine their own goals and priorities, to form a strategic agenda in alliance,” the diplomat added.
On September 9, negotiations were held between President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. During a joint press conference following the meeting, the Russian President announced that an agreement on the unification of the gas markets of the Russian Federation and Belarus would be signed before December 1, 2023. According to him, as a result of lengthy discussions, it was possible to develop mutually acceptable approaches to the gas issue. Also during the meeting, the parties were able to agree on all 28 programs for the Union State.
As the press secretary of the Russian president Dmitry Peskov noted on September 13, the integration of the Russian Federation and Belarus in a political sense is possible, but not at the moment. According to him, the mutual object of interests of Russia and Belarus is the implementation of the union programs.
The Treaty on the Creation of the Union State between Russia and Belarus entered into force on January 26, 2000. In December 2019, on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the document, it was proposed to adopt a program for deepening integration.