MOSCOW, January 13. /TASS/. Russia and Belarus plan to agree in 2023 on a new package of measures for integration within the Union State for the next three years, it is currently being developed, director of the Russian Foreign Ministry’s Second CIS Department Alexey Polishchuk said in an interview with TASS.
"This year, we need to agree on a new set of measures to enhance union integration over the next three years, from 2024 to 2026. It is actively being developed at the government level. Joint proposals should be submitted for approval to the Union State's highest bodies," the diplomat noted.
Furthermore, he emphasized that one of the important issues for Moscow and Minsk this year is the complete implementation of the Main Provisions of the Treaty Establishing the Union State in 2021 - 2023, as well as 28 sectoral union integration initiatives. "This will allow us to move forward in setting up a single economic space and boost economic collaboration," Polishchuk continued.
According to him, the parties are focusing on further "growth of the Union State's integration development, strengthening its institutional and legal base." Currently, Russia and Belarus' relevant departments have "managed to accomplish major results in this." The ambassador reminded that on January 9 in Minsk, President Alexander Lukashenko and Secretary of State of the Union State Dmitry Mezentsev revealed that seven union programs and 68% of 989 integrating measures had been fully executed.
"Russia and Belarus have largely synced their regulatory frameworks for managing economic activities. A uniform system for tracing goods has been launched, and control systems in veterinary medicine and phytosanitary have been merged. The Interstate Customs Coordination Center has begun operations. The development of a transnational tax center and the introduction of a unified system for managing indirect taxes are the next steps," Polishchuk added.
He also noted that Russia and Belarus form the common defense space of the Union State every day. When answering the question when the formation of the Union State common defense space would be completed and whether a unified command was possible, the diplomat noted that "the most important joint decisions in the military sphere are taken by the Supreme State Council and the Council of Ministers of the Union State."
The diplomat referred to the Russian and Belarusian military for more detailed clarifications on the relevant issues. "For my part, I can say that the Treaty establishing the Union State provides for a joint defense policy, coordination in the field of military construction and development of the armed forces, joint use of military infrastructure and taking other measures to maintain the defense capabilities of the Union State," he added.