MOSCOW, 9 September (BelTA) - The deepening of integration between Belarus and Russia is not connected with the current political trends, Russian President Vladimir Putin said at the talks with Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko in Moscow, BelTA has learned.
For the past few years, Belarus and Russia have been working on the Union State programs to deepen the integration in the Union State format. They were worked out at the expert and government levels. They were discussed during meetings between the heads of the two states.
"What we hope to agree on today is not connected with any current political trends in our countries or with the political calendar in the run-up to the parliamentary elections in Russia. This is our current, long-standing joint work of many years," Vladimir Putin stressed.
The heads of state will once again review 28 Union State programs prepared by the governments of the two countries, and also consider other issues on the bilateral and international agenda. One of the topics will be the situation in Afghanistan, especially in view with the upcoming summits of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in Dushanbe in mid-September.
As BelTA reported earlier, the parties have reached a consensus on all the 28 Union State programs at the governmental level and are on the home stretch. The presidents will give their verdict to the work done as to whether the programs are ready for signing in the form and structure they have been submitted. The main emphasis is on the sustainability of the economic development of the two states.
The presidents are expected to sign the programs at a meeting of the Supreme State Council of the Union State due in October - November. If Aleksandr Lukashenko and Vladimir Putin reach a final agreement at the talks on 9 September, then the appropriate documents in purview of the governments can be signed the next day as Minsk hosts a meeting of the Union Council of Ministers on 10 September.
