MINSK, 4 October (BelTA) – Integration of the economic capacities of Belarus and Russia will become a good response to the West's sanctions pressure, Chairman of the House of Representatives Vladimir Andreichenko said as he opened the sixth session of the House of Representatives of the National Assembly of Belarus of the seventh convocation on 4 October, BelTA has learned.
“We have to solve no less important tasks within the program of international and inter-parliamentary cooperation, where our top priority is to strengthen strategic cooperation with the Russian Federation, the People's Republic of China and the CIS countries. As far as deeper integration within the framework of the Union State is concerned, the recent agreements between the leaders of Belarus and Russia have brought us very close to the main goal of the negotiations, which took more than a year. The goal was to create equal conditions for economic entities. The unification of the economic potentials of Belarus and Russia will be a good response to the sanctions pressure of the West. Of course, MPs must be actively involved in this mission. This is the task that the head of state set before us,” said Vladimir Andreichenko.
According to the speaker, there is still a lot of work to be done. “Since the composition of the Russian representation in the Parliamentary Assembly is being renewed, we need to maintain continuity in our work and identify new directions for it. I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate our Russian counterparts on the successful completion of the election campaign and to express hope for the further development of constructive cooperation,” he added. “The principles of good neighborliness and mutual trust, consideration of interests of all nations, making decisions strictly on the basis of consensus are also inherent in the oldest integration structure of the post-Soviet space, the Commonwealth of Independent States, which 30th anniversary we are celebrating this year. As part of Belarus' CIS presidency we pay special attention to coordination of efforts with our allies at such forums as the EAEU, the CSTO and the SCO,” he said.
The range of issues of mutual interest is huge. “In the light of recent international events, ensuring security in the CSTO region is of particular importance to us. The Afghan crisis has affected virtually everyone. Having created an acute humanitarian problem for the citizens of Afghanistan, the United States and its allies are trying to shift the responsibility for its consequences to third states, including Belarus. Of course, we cannot sit idly by in this situation. We are obliged to protect our country and its citizens by all available means. This should be our main criterion when considering the draft law on suspension of the readmission agreement with the European Union. The measure is forced, but necessary, because the policy of the collective West is becoming more and more unpredictable. The failure in Afghanistan and the scandal with French submarines once again demonstrated the complete inability of the unipolar world to maintain the international balance of power,” stated Vladimir Andreichenko.
According to him, no one knows what will be the new world order. “One thing is clear - the only alternative to a global catastrophe are unifying initiatives, consonant with those offered to the international community by the Belarusian president. It is our direct duty to draw attention to them. This topic should be constantly raised at all levels of inter-parliamentary dialogue, including the European vector. Despite everything, there are many sensible politicians in Europe. Our partners from Southeast Asia, the Middle East, Africa, and Latin America should be more actively involved in discussing the Belarusian initiatives. Most of the population of the planet is concentrated here. There are huge markets for Belarusian goods and technologies. The peoples of these countries share our vision of the value of peace, mutual respect and trust. This is how we should prepare for our participation in the forthcoming events of the Inter-Parliamentary Union, the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly, the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, other international organizations and discussion platforms,” the chairman of the House of Representatives said.
