Lukashenko met with Mezentsev: we need to review agenda and clarify some issues

Head of State Aleksandr Lukashenko has met today with State Secretary of the Union State Dmitry Mezentsev ahead of tomorrow’s meeting of the Supreme State Council of the Union State, which will be held in Minsk under the President of Belarus’ chairmanship on the eve of the 25th anniversary of the Union State Treaty

photo: www.president.gov.by

“We have been trying to create our Union State for twenty-five years. Many directions have been identified. Some things were not done in time, but a lot has been done. Naturally, we will not do without talking about this topic at the Supreme State Council tomorrow. Somehow, we will highlight this problem. I would like you to report in more detail on the agenda for tomorrow’s meeting. We will discuss the nuances with the Belarusian ministers today. But I would like to know whether there are any problems on the agenda?” Aleksandr Lukashenko said at today’s meeting with Dmitry Mezentsev.

The President said he had spoken to Vladimir Putin on the subject the day before yesterday, “There were a lot of other questions. But I invited him to Minsk once again and told him that you and I would prepare the Supreme State Council meeting properly. So we should go through the agenda once again and clarify some issues.”

Aleksandr Lukashenko emphasised once again that a lot has been done in the Union construction, ‘especially in the area of equal rights of citizens of Belarus and Russia’, “But I think we should be bolder in this direction. And, of course, the foundation of any relationship is the economy. We have a number of fundamental issues that we should probably resolve together with Russia as early as next year. Given that much has already been done in this direction, these issues have been worked out, and decisions must be taken. If decisions have already been made, they should be implemented promptly. There should be no red tape. There should be no misunderstandings. We will discuss such issues with Vladimir Vladimirovich tomorrow (and today, if necessary).”

Dmitry Mezentsev absolutely agrees with the Belarusian leader that the emphasis in the Union State construction should be placed on mutually beneficial economic liaisons. In addition, he noted that due to the position of the presidents of Belarus and Russia, the governments are now in charge of the humanitarian agenda. These are education, culture, sports, and more and more attention is being paid to tourism clusters.

Speaking about the upcoming meeting of the Supreme State Council, Dmitry Mezentsev noted that its agenda includes ten issues, “In principle, all the issues have been very thoroughly worked out. The agenda is really multi-dimensional, agreed upon by the parties. Of course, we would like some of the issues to be discussed, so that the parties can have their say. On some of the issues that are traditional but substantial, I would ask you to allow me to report very briefly and to propose that you and Vladimir Putin sign them without discussion.”