ПОЛИТИКА (последнее)
Ambassador Valery Loshchinin, Ambassador of the Russian Federation to Belarus, Answers the Questions from the Belarus in the World (1998)
Политология, современная политика. Статьи, заметки, фельетоны, исследования. Книги по политологии.
Question (Q.): What do you think is the most important achievement in Russian-Belarusian relations since 1991, and why?
Answer (A.): Many significant events have taken place since 1991. The dominant one, from the standpoint of Russian-Belarusian relations, is, without doubt, the establishment of the Community of Russia and Belarus on April 2, 1996, and in the following year-the Union of Russia and Belarus. The formation of the Union is, without exaggeration, a historic step on the way to further integration of our peoples. This initiated the development of renewed relations between the two independent states, leading them to a new level. The establishment of the Union constituted a logical continuation of the strengthening of traditionally friendly and indivisible relations of our brotherly peoples, the relations that are based upon centuries-old traditions of co-operation, cultural, religious and spiritual unity. The results of the activities within the framework of the Union, aimed at further strengthening of Russian- Belarusian co-operation in political, economic, social, military, scientific, cultural and other areas on the basis of preservation of sovereignty and mutually beneficial partnership, indisputably prove that the course towards a deeper integration of Russia and Belarus has been chosen correctly. The key point is that the Union of Belarus and Russia has become a reality, and the ongoing integration processes within its framework are being filled with concrete contents.
Q.: What do you think is unused potential for the development and strengthening of Russian- Belarusian relations?
A.: First of all, I would like to emphasise that the Union with Belarus is a strategic course of Russia?s foreign policy. There may be difficulties on this way, but they are not permanent, whereas the brotherhood of our peoples is eternal. That is why one should differentiate between making policy and merely playing politics. The latter, of course, has no historic prospects. This is precisely what has to be considered while assessing potential of our relations, which is inexhaustible. For instance, there is much to be done under the Mid-Term Programme for Implementation of Charter Goals of the Union of Belarus and Russia. The Programme contains more than 80 tasks in all five areas of the development of the Union-political, economic, social, legal, and in the area of security. These include harmonisation of various legislative acts; establishment of conditions for the development of common securities market, markets of energy resources, communications and transport services; formation of common investment, informational, scientific-technological, and educational environment; development of relations between the two countries? regions; drafting proposals on the establishment of inter-state financial-industrial companies; minimisation of the consequences of the accident at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant; elaboration of legislative acts defining rights of citizens of the Union; establishment of the Union property, to name a few. These are the spheres of the big and laborious work, which is being conducted by our states step by step. One has to appreciate consistent, persistent and determined position of the Belarusian leadership in the implementation of various bilateral projects.
Q.: What are the specifics of your work and the work of the Russian Embassy in Minsk after the establishment of bilateral structures within the Union of Belarus and Russia?
A.: The basic missions and functions of Russian Embassies are defined in the unified Act on the Embassy of the Russian Federation adopted by decree of the Russian President. For example, among the basic missions and functions of any embassy one could name provision, by diplomatic means, for co-operation between Russia and host nations in political, trade, economic, scientific, technical, cultural, and other spheres; assistance to state bodies, public associations and representatives of business circles in establishing contacts; involvement in treaty drafting and control over implementation of treaties; participation in co-ordination and realisation of reciprocal exchanges at the top and high levels and visits by official delegations; maintaining contacts with governing bodies, foreign political and other agencies; performing consular functions and so on.
All these apply, of course, to our Embassy. However, our work in Belarus is a special case. This is, first of all, because the relations of Russia with the countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) are in the priority list, and relations with Belarus are ranked first in this list. It may sound like an exaggeration, but I should emphasise that this is the way it is, and this is precisely what we take into account in our activities. This is where the importance, scope, and responsibility of our work come from. It is not always visible, the public may not know its specifics and nuances, but I will not reveal a secret by saying that preparation and realisation of decisions made within the Union are only possible with the involvement of our Embassy, with everyday contacts with host country?s ministries and agencies, and huge amount of documents worked through by Embassy staff. In a word, as far as the Union mechanisms and structures are concerned, we work hand in hand, complementing each other, and jointly facilitate the development and deepening of integration between our countries.
Q.: What can you say about the development of social, scientific, cultural, and other areas of humanitarian co-operation within the framework of the integration processes between Russia and Belarus?
A.: In the field of humanitarian co-operation the breakthrough is clearly seen in all directions. The co-operation between Academies of Sciences, universities, and institutions for science research has became closer. Agreements have been reached on equal rights for university entrants, and on mutual recognition and equivalency of diplomas, degrees and ranks. Hundreds of Russians study in Belarusian universities, and, respectively, several thousand citizens of Belarus study in Russia. The Concept of Development of the System of Education, Training and Re-Training of Cadres in the Union has been adopted.
As far as the social sphere is concerned, the citizens of the two countries are offered equal rights in employment, payment, medical care, free exchange of housing, purchasing, owning, utilising, and managing property.
The plan of joint activities on unification of retirement programmes of the two states has been drafted. The establishment of the uniform legal basis of retirement programmes and rendering benefits to the disabled, Great Patriotic War veterans, Chernobyl victims, and workers who had worked in the Far North and similar regions are among the top priority measures.
Joint measures are being taken to overcome consequences of the Chernobyl disaster. To this end, Russia allocated 5.7 billion roubles for Belarus in 1996-97.
Measures have been taken to establish a common labour market. The next big step will be full harmonisation of the Labour Codes.
The work on co-ordination and adoption of unified ecological norms and standards has been initiated. Meteorological services of the two countries co-operate actively.
Cultural exchanges have also been expanded. Slavyansky Bazar-98, Belarusian Culture Days in the city of Murmansk, in Lipetsk and Kemerovo regions can be mentioned among the latest biggest events in the cultural life of our countries.
On the whole, the development of humanitarian co-operation is one of the most important signs of the Union?s viability.
Q.: Could you agree with the opinion that the integration impetus, given by the signing of the Treaty and the Charter of the Union of Belarus and Russia in April-May 1997, is fading away?
A.: I cannot agree with this viewpoint since it has no serious grounds. One should not treat temporary difficulties (this is, generally, unavoidable in such a significant endeavour and, moreover, under special conditions of the transition period) as cooling down of the relations or loosening of the integration processes. The dynamics of the development of Russian-Belarusian relations show that the integration is getting strength and brings about results. On the other hand, the scope, nature, and specifics of our relations inevitably cause new tasks, which sometimes are hard to fulfil. But hardships are, in the end, overcome, and the great cause of the Union steadily goes ahead.
Take, for instance, the economy, which is the dominant area of Russian-Belarusian co-operation. The economic strategy of the Union is based upon the use of capabilities created by mutually beneficial inter-state division of labour, specialisation and co-operation of production, and by providing for mutual economic interests. The main task in the economic sphere is to establish a common economic space to provide for free movement of capital, labour, goods, and services.
The measures taken to establish the common economic space have led to an unprecedented increase in mutual trade during the last two years, which, according to the world practice, is the main evidence of the effectiveness of integration processes. Compared to 1995, trade between Russia and Belarus increased in 1997 by more than 81%, exceeding $9 billion. In this area, our two countries have reached the highest indices both within the CIS and in the ?union of four? (Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Russia). Behind these figures are more orders placed with plants and factories in both Russia and Belarus, preservation or increase in the amount of jobs in the two countries, and more consumer goods on the store shelves.
The dynamic and steady growth in trade between the countries is maintained during this year. This growth is considerably facilitated by the development of regional co-operation. In fact, in 15 subjects of the Russian Federation trade with Belarus has grown 1.5-1.8 times, in Moscow and Bryansk regions-2- 2.2 times, and in the city of Moscow, in Orel and Tver regions-2.6 times. This proves that regional co- operation becomes one of the most critical factors of the integration of the two states.
In a word, the Union of Belarus and Russia does work. It works effectively and with high productivity. It is getting strength day by day and works for the sake of our peoples and states. Its overall strengthening is an objective necessity requiring further purposeful efforts from all of us.
Опубликовано 14 мая 2014 года
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