MINSK, 21 November (BelTA) – A meeting of the speakers of the upper houses of the parliaments of Belarus and Russia took place in St. Petersburg on the sidelines of the CIS IPA Council meeting and the 50th plenary session of the CIS IPA on 21-22 November. Mikhail Myasnikovich and Valentina Matviyenko discussed the issues of Belarusian-Russian cooperation, BelTA learned from the press service of the Council of the Republic.
Mikhail Myasnikovich noted that at the parliamentary level there is a full understanding on ways to polish the mechanisms to deepen the integration which governments are working on. “The work has been evolutionary, certainly not without hiccups. Each side has certain interests, and we need to find the solutions that could suit everyone,” the chairman of the Council of the Republic said. “There is a full understanding with the Federation Council on the approaches. We proceed from the principle the negotiating parties are two sovereign states that conduct their own policies,” he added.
The speaker expressed confidence that the parties will be able to find common ground. “The road maps on which the parties are currently working may be submitted for consideration of the heads of state in December, and possibly the Supreme State Council of the Union State (we also discussed this issue), if everything goes as planned,” he explained.
“It is important that new rules are not made as we are working on the integration issues,” Mikhail Myasnikovich stressed. “Unfortunately, it has happened in the past when we agree, start working on certain documents and then see rules change. This creates a certain imbalance, the solution of which involves not only economic but also political structures,” he added.
BelTA reported earlier that during its session on 21 November, the Council of the CIS Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (IPA) considered the results of the latest meetings of the CIS Heads of State Council and the CIS Heads of Government Council. The council also reviewed the progress in the work on the draft CIS economic development strategy through 2030, the CIS IPA plan of action to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the Victory in the Great Patriotic War, and the draft CIS plan of model lawmaking for 2020-2022. On 22 November, the CIS IPA will hold a plenary meeting to consider the model laws on liability right, advertisement, social and eco tourism. MPs will also analyze the draft recommendations on the application of the international humanitarian law in counteracting terrorism and violent manifestations of extremism, and on the organization of national environmental safety centers.
