BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

17/01/2007

Gref sceptical about prospects for Russia-Belarus Union

MOSCOW, January 17 (Itar-Tass) - Russian Minister of Economic Development and Trade German Gref said "the Russia-Belarus Union State will not be developing in any way, because it has not been created."

Gref said so as he was answering a lawmakers' question about his vision of the prospects for the Union State, in the wake of tensions over the transit of Russian oil to Europe via Belarus in early January.

In his opinion, the establishment of a union state of Belarus and Russia is impossible without economic integration of the two countries, which is making no headway at present.

"Russia and Belarus have no market relations," he said, "but the most regrettable fact is that integration processes are making no progress and inter-state agreements are not being implemented."

He reminded that to create a union state, the parties have to sign a joint Constitutional Act and introduce a single currency unit on the territory of the two stats.

Gref recalled that Russian experts had spent two years on developing a plan to introduce the rouble as the Union State currency, but in 2005, Belarus leader Alexander Lukashenko, answering a direct question from Russian President Vladimir Putin, said his country was not yet ready for that move.

The third necessary move is to form a one regulable economic space in both countries. There has been no improvement in the sphere either, Gref said, because Belarus introduced 59 restrictions against Russian companies, and subsidizes certain branches of its economy, including agriculture, PRIME-TASS reported.

However, Gref expressed the hope that Russia will be able to settle these problems with Belarus in the nearest future.

Source:

http://www.itar-tass.com/eng/level2.html?NewsID=11162313&PageNum=0