Key outcomes of the Union State Supreme State Council and high-level negotiations

On January 29th, Presidents of Belarus and Russia Aleksandr Lukashenko and Vladimir Putin took part in a meeting of the Supreme State Council of the Union State

The Head of the Belarusian state told about the serious joint work carried out with the Russian colleague over the past few days in St. Petersburg. 
“We have indeed worked very seriously these days. I can put it this way — from the South Pole to the North. We have discussed the issues of Antarctica, too... The most important thing is that we do not divide anything. Belarusians work together with Russians. Belarusian specialists stationed there are provided with all kinds of support — both scientific and practical... Vladimir Vladimirovich and I moved from the south to the north in our discussions. We have analysed the events taking place in the world. Considering our aspirations — of Russia and Belarus, the People’s Republic of China... Russia is at the forefront of this because it bears the greatest burden. And it suffers more than anyone else.” 
The President emphasised that the onset of a multipolar world and the reluctance of the current monopolist to surrender its positions has led to conflicts in various parts of the world. 

“The Houthis, the Middle East, and the South China Sea, problems with Taiwan — all of this stems from the fact that a multipolar world is coming. As the Russian Foreign Minister said, ‘the monopolist does not want this’. They are trying to maintain a unipolar world through various means. It has even led to armed conflicts,” Aleksandr Lukashenko stated.

According to the Belarus President, in the course of the talks with Vladimir Putin, they also discussed the questions of economic co-operation, including with Asian and African countries. 
“We have also discussed the work in the Asian continent, especially in Africa, where we are invited. They are really waiting for us there — primarily, for the Russian Federation with huge opportunities.”
Aleksandr Lukashenko pointed out the work on developing freight transportation on the Northern Sea Route and outlined the main tasks and directions for developing co-operation in the Union State both in the current period
and for the future. The President stated that by the end of 2023, the parties have renewed the historic peak of trade 
in goods and services.
“Vladimir Vladimirovich has mentioned a figure — over 40 billion US dollars in 10 months. Yet, if we consider the whole year, it will amount to approximately 54 billion US dollars. This is truly a historic peak. Achieving such high performance is largely the result of implementing measures stipulated in 28 union programmes, within which fundamental decisions were made. We still need to develop common criteria to evaluate their implementation. 
According to Aleksandr Lukashenko, it is important to strengthen the international positioning of the union, as is done 
in the EAEU. As the main task in the industrial sphere, the President of Belarus outlined the activation of co-operation
in import substitution. 
 

“A lot has been done in this area. We have understood many things that we did not understand two years ago. No one has succeeded in bringing us to our knees. On the contrary, we have mobilised ourselves and achieved a lot. Basic intergovernmental agreements have been signed on the recognition of technological operations, the development of microelectronic technologies, the design and production
of the electronic component base, electronic engineering, and a unified industrial policy,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said.

“I am convinced that the prepared decree will provide mutual recognition of technological operations in practice.
I believe that the governments should take measures for its implementation in the shortest possible time, without any deviations or exceptions.”


The Head of the Belarusian state also stated the need to eliminate anything that hinders mutual supply of goods,
to level the operating conditions for businesses, to get rid of barriers in the public procurement sphere, and
to remove restrictions on the transit of goods. 
“These topics are not new, but we still have quite a few rough edges in this regard. I want to emphasise that we have not yet fully determined on the most important issues. This concerns the creation of a single market for gas, oil, and oil products. Now is the time when we can calmly make these decisions. They will be beneficial for both Russia and Belarus,” the President said. According to him, these crucially important topics are regularly discussed in negotiations with the President of Russia. 
“Agreements have been reached. I think the governments need to more actively implement them,” underlined Aleksandr Lukashenko. The President also mentioned the logistics of transporting Belarusian export goods through Russian ports. In this regard, there are proposals to increase the capacity of the October Railway in the direction
of St. Petersburg ports. 

“Millions of tonnes of Belarusian cargo have been redirected from the ports of the Baltic States
to St. Petersburg, Murmansk, and the Black Sea ports. Yet, there is still some tension. Vladimir Vladimirovich 
and I discussed this problem three months ago. We decided that the October Railway towards St. Petersburg should work more intensively. At the first stage, it will require insignificant funds and minor work to restore the junctions,” the Belarusian leader shared the details.

The XI Forum of Belarus and Russia Regions, which will take place in Vitebsk in June, is expected to bring new fresh ideas, and most importantly — breakthrough economic projects and specific proposals for the development of co-operation. 
The Union State is set to celebrate several significant anniversaries in the current year. First and foremost, it marks the 80th anniversary of Belarus’ liberation and the 25th anniversary of signing the Treaty on the Creation of the Union State.
“These are powerful ideological reasons. We have no right not to leverage on them in order to promote our values
and defend the truth about our shared history,” the President of Belarus emphasised. 
The Head of the Belarusian state remarked that the meeting of the Union State Supreme State Council is taking place on the threshold of important domestic political events. For the first time in the history of Belarus, a single voting day will take place on February 25th this year. 
“Following Russia’s example, we have also established a constitutionally unified voting day. On this day, deputies
of the parliament and local councils will be elected. We have preserved regional, district, and rural councils, as it was in Soviet times. And on March 17th, presidential elections will be held in Russia,” Aleksandr Lukashenko noted. “The period is not easy, but as you can see, it is passing quietly. I am confident that we will approach these dates calmly and will conduct these events just as calmly.” 
President Vladimir Putin emphasised that Belarus and Russia will continue to deepen their socio-economic and humanitarian integration.
“With Russia’s direct participation, the construction of the Belarusian nuclear power plant was completed in 2023. This is a very serious step forward — that is not just a plant built, but an industry is being created. In this sense, Belarus has certainly become a nuclear power. This is a major step forward in the development of the economy and the scientific sphere,” the Russian leader stressed.
Vladimir Putin also reminded that preparations are underway for a Belarusian cosmonaut to fly to the Russian segment of the International Space Station. It is scheduled for the spring this year.
According to Vladimir Putin, today Russia and Belarus tightly interact on the world stage in the face of unprecedented external pressure.
“Our countries have always provided each other with truly allied mutual support. The approaches of our countries to the existing global and regional problems coincide or are close in many ways,” he noted. “We will work jointly in the interests of forming a truly multipolar, democratic and fair world order system, ensuring equal and indivisible security.” 

The meeting of the Union State Supreme State Council in St. Petersburg ended with the signing of a number of documents. These include:

— the main directions for implementation of the provisions of the Treaty on the Creation of the Union State for 2024-2026;
— the programme of coordinated actions of Belarus and Russia in the field of foreign policy for 2024-2026;
— the strategy of scientific and technological development of the Union State until 2035;
— the decision to create the Union State media company, which will include a TV channel, print media and a media resource centre for the creation and distribution of content in the digital environment;
— the Union State action plan for 2024 dedicated to the 80th anniversary of Belarus’ liberation from Nazi invaders;
— the action plan for the 25th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty on the Creation of the Union State;
— the resolution on the establishment of the Union State award for young scientists.

Based on materials of sb.by and belta.by