MOSCOW, 21 August (BelTA) – Belarus' withdrawal from the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) and the Belarus-Russia Union State will become a road to nowhere for the country's economy, Aleksei Pilko, Director of the Eurasian Communication Center, said in an interview with BelTA.
“The Belarusian economy can collapse instantly. This will not do any good to Russian companies, either. We have a very strong interdependence. If I am not mistaken, as far as I remember, about 15% of Russian public procurement contracts are carried out by Belarusian companies. Our economic interdependence is substantial, I don't even want to think about it [Belarus' withdrawal from the EAEU and the Union State],” Aleksei Pilko said.
“This is absolutely not in the national interests of Belarus,” the expert said.
Aleksei Pilko stressed that Belarus is one of those EAEU member states that benefit significantly from the common economic space. “In addition, we have the Union State. Although we have not yet achieved the level of integration we want, but at least residents of Belarus and Russia can travel visa-free within the Union State even without showing a passport,” he recalled.
In addition, Belarus and Russia are very closely linked in the field of military security: the western strategic direction is of critical importance for Russia, the expert said. “In fact, if we look at the western border of Russia, we will see that after the accession of the Baltic states to NATO and after the well-known events of six years ago in Ukraine, the situation is rather difficult for Russia in the southwestern and northwestern directions. Belarus is a kind of wedge that can help ensure the security of the western strategic direction. And, of course, in the context of a big geopolitical game between Russia and the West, there is a desire to pull Belarus somewhere, and, perhaps, this is being done in some way now,” Aleksei Pilko believes.
“I don't think that the majority of people who took to the streets to protest against the election results support the withdrawal of Belarus from the Union State, the EAEU and the CSTO,” the director of the Eurasian Communication Center added.