BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

30/03/2010

Lukashenko calls for Customs Union without restrictions, exceptions

MINSK, March 30 (Itar-Tass) - Belarussian President Alexander Lukashenko stated that Belarus, Kazakhstan and Russia should create their Customs Union without any exceptions and restrictions. "One cannot emasculate the very idea. Conceptually speaking, we should be like one territory, so we should have no exceptions or restrictions, including on sensitive and not sensitive positions," Lukashenko said at a meeting with incumbent OSCE chairman, Kazakh Foreign Minister Kanat Saudobayev on Tuesday.

He added that he would like to have a sincere talk about the beginning of the functioning of the Customs Union and evaluate the difficulties that might arise, because these difficulties "do exist."

He underlined that the Customs Union members should move along one direction at present, otherwise they will have another Commonwealth of Independent States or the Eurasian Economic Community whose lessons "we've already learnt."

The Belarussian leader elaborated on Kazakhstan's activity as OSCE chairman. "We're hoping that the agenda proposed by Kazakhstan -- which has been delegated from the CIS -- will be implemented during this period," he said.

Belarus unequivocally supports all the priorities Kazakhstan is implementing with the OSCE.

"There's a powerful struggle around it; and if Kazakhstan needs a shoulder to lean on in this difficult struggle, Belarus will provide it," the president said.

Alexander Lukashenko also underlined that Kazakhstan was the key partner for Belarus in the Asian region, and that Minsk was hoping for long-term cooperation with it.

For his part, Saudobaeyv stressed the was grateful to Belarus for its firm support of Kazakhstan as incumbent OSCE chairman. "We constantly feel the support and involvement on the part of Belarus in the process of implementing the agenda at the "OSCE," Saudobayev noted.

At present, the initiative on OSCE summit is being implemented," Saudobayev said.

The Council of CIS foreign ministers in Moscow showed that member-states have similar positions on this issue. Saudobayev passed to Lukashenko an invitation from the Kazakh president to make a return visit to Kazakhstan.

Source:

http://www.itar-tass.com/eng/level2.html?NewsID=14970706&PageNum=0


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