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All disputable aspects of Eurasian Economic Union Treaty to be settled soon - deputy PM

Russian Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich says signing the Eurasian Economic Union Treaty will be "a historic step"

Russian Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich EPA/ARNO BURGI

Russian Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich

© EPA/ARNO BURGI

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Putin urges government to finalise Eurasian Economic Union treaty

MINSK, May 09. /ITAR-TASS/. Russia’s Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich is confident that all outstanding disputable aspects of the Eurasian Economic Union Treaty will be settled and the treaty will be signed as scheduled.

“We have agreed practically on all aspects but for some technical ones, which will be settled in the remaining three weeks,” Dvorkovich told journalists on Friday. “I am confident we will be able to find solutions acceptable for all member states. Otherwise, there was no point in embarking on this path," he noted.

According to Dvorkovich, the presidents of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan have given instructions on “how to achieve results.” He expressed confidence that the Eurasian Economic Union Treaty would be signed in late May in Astana, as scheduled. “I think this treaty is a historic step,” he noted. “We began with the Union State (of Russia and Belarus) and the Customs Union (of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan). Now we are uniting into another powerful economic union," Dvorkovich said.

Belarus will not block signing of the treaty

Minsk will not block signing of the Eurasian Economic Union Treaty, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko pledged on Friday.

“We will not block signing of this treaty,” he told journalists. “We have managed to settle issues we were worried about.” Belarus, in his words, thought there should be no restrictions within this association. He said his recent talks in Moscow had been successful and fruitful - all issues sensitive to Belarus, such as levies on oil products, had been settled in a bilateral format.

Now, he said, the sides should have clear understanding of documents by May 29 when the treaty was planned to be signed. He said that the Belarusian side would thoroughly analyze the agreements reached at the Moscow talks. “The sides have settled issues of gas and oil supplies for years to come. Gas and oil will be supplied in the volumes we would like to have, with prospects for further increase, if necessary,” Lukashenko said. So far, according to the Belarusian leader, 23 million tons of oil a year is enough for Belarus to keep its oil refineries busy.

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