BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

27/07/2005

Putin pushes for merger with Belarus

ZAVIDOVO, Russia, July 26 (UPI) -- Russian President Vladimir Putin told members of a political youth movement that the country needs unification with neighboring Belarus.

"We do not want to offend those who value Belarusian culture, language and history, which we are proud of as well," Putin said, according to Novosti. "However, in a broad sense, we are a single nation and we will only benefit if we unite, having gained advantages in relations with other countries."

Putin met with members of the Nashi movement at the Zavidovo state residence in Tver region.

Russia and Belarus signed an agreement in 1999 seeking eventual reunification. But negotiators have been unable to agree on a draft constitution and any merger of the currency is on indefinite hold.

President Alexander Lukashenko of Belarus said on Tuesday that part of the problem is that Russia wants to model the merged state on the European Union while Belarus would like it to resemble the Soviet Union.

Source:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/upi/?feed=TopNews&article=UPI-1-20050727-07042500-bc-russia-belarus.xml