MOSCOW, April 1. /TASS/. The Union State of Russia and Belarus has not received any applications for accession from other states, State Secretary of the Union State Sergey Glazyev told TASS.

Previously, Glazyev mentioned that the legal framework of the Union State makes it possible for other states to join the Union.

"The leaders of both states have always emphasized the integration being voluntary. This view is shared by Alexander Lukashenko and Vladimir Putin who, within the Eurasian Economic Union and the CSTO [the Collective Security Treaty Organization], have stressed that the integration was conducted on a voluntary basis. And yet we have not received any applications," Glazyev said.

Creation of the Union

On April 2, 1996, Moscow hosted a meeting between the president of Russia Boris Yeltsin and his Belarusian counterpart Alexander Lukashenko. They signed the founding Treaty on the Establishment of a Community. The aim of the Treaty was to establish political and economic union. At the same time, the Treaty stressed that Russia and Belarus remained autonomous subjects of the international law, maintaining their sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity. The Treaty was open for admission of other states sharing the same values. On April 2, 1997, the Community of Russia and Belarus was transformed into the Union of Russia and Belarus (the Day of Unity of the Peoples of Russia is Belarus is celebrated on April 2). The parties emphasized that it would become a new step in the process of integration of the states.

On December 8, 1999, Moscow became a venue for a meeting between the leaders of Russia and Belarus. Boris Yeltsin and Alexander Lukashenko signed the Treaty on the Establishment of the Union State (it came into force after its ratification by the parliaments of both states on January 26, 2000) and the Action Program aimed at the implementation of its provisions. The process of formation of the Union State requires the establishment of common economic space, currency and budget, the development of coordinated foreign and social policies and other measures. However, these goals should be achieved step by step, considering the priorities and economic and social spheres. According to the Treaty, the Union State is founded on the principles of "sovereignty of the member states, voluntary participation, responsible fulfillment of their mutual obligations."