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Putin orders agreement on common energy market of Russia, Belarus be signed

The common energy market is a strategic issue in relations between Moscow and Minsk

© Mikhail Klimentyev/Russian Presidential Press Service/TASS

MOSCOW, July 29. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a decree supporting the Agreement on the formation of the common energy market of the Common State of Russia and Belarus. The document requesting the signing of the agreement at the top level has been published on the portal of legal information.

"To accept the proposal by the government of the Russian Federation on signing of the agreement. To consider the signing of the agreement stipulated by the present decree at the top level reasonable," according to the decree.

Russia’s Energy Ministry has been tasked with holding the negotiations. The ministry has also been authorized to make nonessential amendments approved by the Russian Foreign Ministry.

The common energy market is a strategic issue in relations between Moscow and Minsk. Its creation was discussed during the visit of Russian President Vladimir Putin to Belarus this May. The launch of the common energy market was initially planned for the beginning of 2024. However, Moscow and Minsk still had some differences to hash out, Putin has said.

Russia’s Energy Ministry said earlier that the project was ready for the first stage of work on purchase and sale of electricity by proxy. The second stage involves deeper integration in the electricity sector, with single operations control of processes planned to be organized and the price of gas to be leveled out. In the future it is planned to synchronize the project with the work of the EAEU common electricity market.

The Belarusian side greenlighted the draft agreement at the end of last November. The Russian government approved the basic text of the agreement earlier in July. The Russian Energy Ministry has said that all domestic procedures have been completed, with the document being ready for signing by the presidents.

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