BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

29/06/2006

Russia, Belarus still talking union

MOSCOW, June 29 (UPI) -- Russia and Belarus could hold a referendum as soon as this fall on a constitution for a joint state.

Pavel Borodin, the state secretary of the Russian-Belarus union, told RIA-Novosti he hopes the Supreme Council will set dates this summer for the referendum and parliamentary elections.

"In practice, we can hold the referendum this fall and elections to the future parliament either this fall or next spring," Borodin said.

The two countries have been discussing a union state with a common customs area, economic policy and political regulations for almost a decade. But there have been recent disagreements over economic policy, including Russia's plan to raise the price Belarus pays for gas.

Belarus contributes one-third of the cost of the union even though its population is only 7 percent of Russia's.

Source:

http://www.upi.com/NewsTrack/view.php?StoryID=20060629-114144-8472r