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Minsk and Moscow yet to agree on eight integration roadmaps

"The task is to harmonize the entire legal framework, both Belarusian and Russia, with hundreds of laws and dozens of intergovernmental agreements by June 1, 2020", Belarusian Ambassador to Russia Vladimir Semashko noted

© Michail Klimentiev/Russian President's press service/TASS

MOSCOW, December 8. /TASS/. Eight roadmaps on closer Russian-Belarusian integration have not yet been agreed on, Belarusian Ambassador to Russia Vladimir Semashko said on Sunday commenting on the results of the talks between the two countries’ leaders in Sochi.

"Eight roadmaps have not yet been agreed on," BelTA news agency quoted him as saying.

He recalled that at a meeting on December 6 the two countries’ prime ministers had heard reports from the energy ministers to "state that they have found a solution on the energy roadmap." Moreover, "a solution on the roadmap for cooperation between the customs services" was found at a meeting between the presidents.

"The most important thing is that the prime ministers audited what has been done. They were not tasked to find ultimate solutions on the remaining roadmaps. It was done by the presidents on December 7," Semashko said, adding that the talks were held in a constructive and friendly atmosphere.

"The task is to harmonize the entire legal framework, both Belarusian and Russia, with hundreds of laws and dozens of intergovernmental agreements by June 1, 2020," he noted.

He recalled that as many as 21 draft roadmaps out of 31 had been agreed on at the previous round of talks between the two countries’ prime ministers on November 19. As of now, eight roadmaps are yet to be agreed on.

December 8 marks the 20th anniversary of the Russian-Belarusian Union State Treaty that was signed by the two countries’ presidents. The document came into force following the exchange of ratification papers on December 26, 2000. Currently, the countries are agreeing 31 roadmaps on closer integration.

On December 7, the two countries president, Vladimir Putin of Russia and Alexander Lukashenko of Belarus, held hours-long talks on integration-related problems in Russia’s Black Sea resort city of Sochi. Among the key problems are Russian gas prices for Belarus in 2020 and compensation for Minsk’s losses from the tax maneuver in Russia’s oil sector. They agree to continue dialogue on December 20.

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