MOSCOW, 28 June (BelTA) – The Belarus-Russia Union Sate is expected to advance to a brand-new level, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Belarus to Russia Vladimir Semashko said at a reception hosted by the Belarusian Embassy in Moscow on 27 June in the run-up to Belarus' Independence Day, BelTA has learned.
Vladimir Semashko noted that as soon as Belarus became an independent state, it started building equal and partner relations with all countries, including Russia. This year marks 20 years since the Union State Treaty was signed. “In the near future the Union State is expected to advance to an absolutely new level. Important decisions are to be taken to establish the common economic space, which also pertains to the development of the credit and finance system, fuel and energy sector and transport,” the ambassador said.
He emphasized that thanks to the integration that spanned from Brest to Vladivostok, Belarusian and Russian nationals have equal rights when it comes to the freedom of movement and the choice of place of residence, as well as equal rights on the labor market, in education, healthcare, purchase of housing and doing business. “Thanks to very tight economic cooperation, a relatively small country of Belarus became the fifth biggest trading partner of a huge country of Russia. Interregional ties are getting stronger, too. In three weeks Saint Petersburg will host the sixth edition of the Forum of Regions of Belarus and Russia that will be attended by the heads of state. We collaborate in maintaining security of the Union State and support each other in international platforms,” Vladimir Semashko said.
The ambassador noted that Russia remains Belarus' main strategic foreign policy and foreign economic partner.
The reception at the Belarusian Embassy brought together many representatives of Russia's political, business and cultural elite, including State Secretary, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Russia Grigory Karasin, State Secretary of the Union State Grigory Rapota, Russian MPs, representatives of the Eurasian Economic Commission, the Union State Parliamentary Assembly, the municipal government of Moscow, Belarusian diaspora, representatives of the expert community and mass media, as well as ambassadors of the CIS member states, Europe, Asia, Africa and Latin America accredited in Moscow.
