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Roaming charges within Russia-Belarus Union State to be abolished by September 2020

Under the final edition of the roadmap on the so-called roaming abolishment between Russia and Belarus, proposals on its legislative enforcement are to be ready by March 2020, spokesman for the Russian ministry of communication Yevgeny Novikov says

© Donat Sorokin/TASS

MOSCOW, December 22. /TASS/. Roaming charges within the Union State of Russia and Belarus are to be abolished by September 2020, Yevgeny Novikov, a spokesman for the Russian ministry of communication, told TASS on Sunday citing a final edition of the roadmap that has been signed by Russia and is to be signed by Belarus.

"Under the final edition of the roadmap on the so-called roaming abolishment between Russia and Belarus, proposals on its legislative enforcement are to be ready by March 2020. Roaming charges within the Union State are to be cancelled not later than September 2020. By that time, all technical, organizational and other measures are to be taken to ensure proper routing and pricing of roaming calls," he said.

According to the spokesman, Russia has agreed the final edition of the roadmap. "On our part, it was signed on December 19. Now we are waiting for Belarus to sign it," he added.

Russian Economic Development Minister Maxim Oreshkin said in an interview with the Moscow. Kremlin. Putin programme on the Rossiya-1 television channel earlier that a concrete date when roaming between Russia and Belarus would be cancelled had been agreed but this decision would come into effect only as part of a package agreement.

The matter was discussed at the 55th session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Union of Russia and Belarus in December 2018. Belarusian Minister of Communication Konstantin Shulgan said in early August 2019 that the abolishment of roaming within the Union State would take from six to nine months after the corresponding roadmap was signed. Russian Deputy Minister of Communication Oleg Ivanov explained that roaming cancellation would require amendments to law in the two countries.

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