Working visit to the Russian Federation
- 18
On 7-8 President of Belarus Aleksandr Lukashenko paid a working visit to the Russian Federation.
On 8 May the President of Belarus laid a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Moscow.
Participating in the ceremony were Chairperson of the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of Russia Valentina Matviyenko, Secretary General of the Collective Security Treaty Organization Nikolai Bordyuzha and Chairman of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Russia, head of the Communist Party faction in the State Duma Gennady Zyuganov.
Aleksandr Lukashenko observed a minute of silence in memory of those who died in the war.
As part of the working visit the Belarusian head of state took part in the informal meeting of the CIS Heads of State Council and the session of the Supreme State Council.
At the meeting with the CIS leaders the President stressed that Belarus resolutely condemns the attempts to revise the results of World War Two.
“We resolutely condemn attempts to cast into oblivion the heroic events of that time, to revise results of the war, to equate victims and their executioners (many already do it today), attempts to glorify Nazism and rehabilitate Nazi criminals. We have always been flatly against that and continue opposing it,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said.
The Belarus President stressed that the country’s view had been repeatedly stated at international forums. “Belarus should not be ashamed of its stance. We have always called spade a spade and have always pursued the policy of condemning fascism and Nazism,” the Belarusian leader said.
“We are absolutely convinced that the Soviet nation faced genuine genocide in those years,” Aleksandr Lukashenko stressed.
The Belarus President pointed out the facts of special importance for those present during the meeting. “Our nations have made the decisive contribution to the downfall of the Nazi and have lost the greatest number of people. For instance, the war took every third Belarusian,” noted the President. “Our fathers fought together. What we do today will determine what the future generation will remember about the decisive role that the CIS nations played in the destruction of the Hitler forces,” the Belarusian head of state said.
Aleksandr Lukashenko stressed that the Victory of the Soviet people in the Great Patriotic War should unite the states and peoples.
"We often say that the victory is one and for all. We really have nothing to divide here. We are not accountants to calculate the specific share of participation in this war. It was not Russians, Belarusians, Kazakhs, Kyrgyz Uzbek, or Tajik people who won the war. It was the Soviet people who achieved the great victory,” the Belarusian leader said. Aleksandr Lukashenko finds it very topical at the moment. "This should unite our states and our peoples," he emphasized.
The Belarusian head of state noted that there are problems in this respect. "To be absolutely honest, we turned out to be poor successors to those veterans who are still alive, and especially to those 30 million who did not come from the war,” the President said. We did not save the country they defended. Moreover, it is no secret that there were a lot of conflicts in the post Soviet space, and today there is a conflict in the fraternal Ukraine. The sooner we solve this problem, the better it will be for the present generation,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said.
It is with great responsibility that Belarus holds celebrations on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of Victory. They are virtually identical to the celebrations in Russia, Aleksandr Lukashenko underlined. "I am convinced that the ideals of brotherhood and unity should be the basic ideological content of all festive events," the Belarusian leader said.
Aleksandr Lukashenko suggested discussing the situation in Ukraine to the participants of the session.
“At present the Ukrainian side is de facto wrapping up its participation in the operation of the Commonwealth of Independent States. Ukraine does not finance the common budget while it used to be the second largest contributor after Russia. Ukraine does not take part in planned events and has recalled the resident plenipotentiary representative,” noted the Belarusian leader. “Meanwhile, Ukraine is unlikely to quit the CIS,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said.
“I have talked a lot with Ukraine’s leadership telling them there is no need to make hasty decisions. If you don’t want to attend sessions, you are free not to do it like, for example, today. But there is no need to leave. It will be harder to rejoin later,” said the Belarus President. As an example he mentioned Georgia. “I think our friends in Ukraine understand it,” he added.
“First, the Georgian way of leaving while staying party to important agreements will lead to a number of objections on our part. Second, the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has stated that membership in the CIS allows tracking national interests in the region. In other words, the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs gives us a hint that Ukraine is not going to part ways with the CIS,” noted the Belarusian head of state.
Aleksandr Lukashenko stressed that Ukraine is very important for the CIS states and participants of the meeting should approach the Ukrainian issue in a more constructive manner.
At the session of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council the Belarusian President stressed that the Eurasian Economic Union has already acquired the shape of the robust integration association, despite the very difficult starting conditions.
"Launched just four months ago, our union has already acquired the shape of the robust integration association, despite the very difficult starting conditions. In a sense, the economic crisis has spurred the integration and contributed to more effective and coherent work,” the President of Belarus noted.
Aleksandr Lukashenko noted that this is the first session after the Eurasian Economic Union Treaty came into force. "For Belarus this stage is most responsible as we are holding the chairmanship in the Union," the Belarusian leader said.
He noted that the initiatives of both the Belarusian side and partners were supported and were reflected in the agenda of the meeting. "This is a positive sign that our constructive and sometimes critical remarks were taken into account by the Commission who quickly acted upon them," said the Belarusian head of state. “I hope that the practical results, including the removal of exemptions, creating the conditions for the growth of mutual trade, will follow soon,” underlined the Belarusian leader.
Aleksandr Lukashenko remarked that the session participants will need to take decisions on a number of important issues related to the functioning of the union. First of all, this is the negotiation of the protocols on the accession of the Kyrgyz partners to the EEU. "It took less than six months for the quartet to turn, as I believe, into a quintuple,” the Belarusian head of state said.
The commission made another important proposal: to start negotiations with China on the development of cooperation in trade and economy. The President of the Republic of Belarus considers it symbolic that this document is adopted during the official visit of the head of the People's Republic of China Xi Jinping to Russia and in the run-up to his state visit to Belarus.
The session participants are set to approve the concept of the common electrical energy market and a program to liberalize cabotage transport, and to continue the work on the liberalization of the services market.
Aleksandr Lukashenko thanked Vladimir Putin and in general the Russian side for the warm welcome and atmosphere created in the run-up to the 70th anniversary of the Great Victory.
After the session the heads of state signed all resolutions connected with the accession of Kyrgyzstan to the Eurasian Economic Union. Kyrgyzstan had managed to do a lot of work to equip the customs posts and veterinary labs in compliance with requirements of the Eurasian Economic Union. The presidents agreed to expedite the ratification procedures.
The presidents of the Eurasian Economic Union also approved a concept of the common electric energy market. Plans have been made to get the common electricity market operational by 2019. In the future there are plans to create a common market for other energy resources in the Eurasian Economic Union.
Apart from that, EEu leaders instructed the Eurasian Economic Commission to start working on a comprehensive agreement on partnership and cooperation with China. The large-scale agreement will be the first document of the kind in international cooperation of the Eurasian Economic Union. It will enable the basic conditions for advancing partnership of the sides.
The President of the Republic of Belarus also held a number of bilateral meetings. In particular, Aleksandr Lukashenko held talks with Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro, Vietnam President Truong Tan Sang, Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades, Serbia President Tomislav Nikolic, China President Xi Jinping and Slovakia Prime Minister Robert Fico.
On 8 May the President of Belarus laid a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Moscow.
Participating in the ceremony were Chairperson of the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of Russia Valentina Matviyenko, Secretary General of the Collective Security Treaty Organization Nikolai Bordyuzha and Chairman of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Russia, head of the Communist Party faction in the State Duma Gennady Zyuganov.
Aleksandr Lukashenko observed a minute of silence in memory of those who died in the war.
As part of the working visit the Belarusian head of state took part in the informal meeting of the CIS Heads of State Council and the session of the Supreme State Council.
At the meeting with the CIS leaders the President stressed that Belarus resolutely condemns the attempts to revise the results of World War Two.
“We resolutely condemn attempts to cast into oblivion the heroic events of that time, to revise results of the war, to equate victims and their executioners (many already do it today), attempts to glorify Nazism and rehabilitate Nazi criminals. We have always been flatly against that and continue opposing it,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said.
The Belarus President stressed that the country’s view had been repeatedly stated at international forums. “Belarus should not be ashamed of its stance. We have always called spade a spade and have always pursued the policy of condemning fascism and Nazism,” the Belarusian leader said.
“We are absolutely convinced that the Soviet nation faced genuine genocide in those years,” Aleksandr Lukashenko stressed.
The Belarus President pointed out the facts of special importance for those present during the meeting. “Our nations have made the decisive contribution to the downfall of the Nazi and have lost the greatest number of people. For instance, the war took every third Belarusian,” noted the President. “Our fathers fought together. What we do today will determine what the future generation will remember about the decisive role that the CIS nations played in the destruction of the Hitler forces,” the Belarusian head of state said.
Aleksandr Lukashenko stressed that the Victory of the Soviet people in the Great Patriotic War should unite the states and peoples.
"We often say that the victory is one and for all. We really have nothing to divide here. We are not accountants to calculate the specific share of participation in this war. It was not Russians, Belarusians, Kazakhs, Kyrgyz Uzbek, or Tajik people who won the war. It was the Soviet people who achieved the great victory,” the Belarusian leader said. Aleksandr Lukashenko finds it very topical at the moment. "This should unite our states and our peoples," he emphasized.
The Belarusian head of state noted that there are problems in this respect. "To be absolutely honest, we turned out to be poor successors to those veterans who are still alive, and especially to those 30 million who did not come from the war,” the President said. We did not save the country they defended. Moreover, it is no secret that there were a lot of conflicts in the post Soviet space, and today there is a conflict in the fraternal Ukraine. The sooner we solve this problem, the better it will be for the present generation,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said.
It is with great responsibility that Belarus holds celebrations on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of Victory. They are virtually identical to the celebrations in Russia, Aleksandr Lukashenko underlined. "I am convinced that the ideals of brotherhood and unity should be the basic ideological content of all festive events," the Belarusian leader said.
Aleksandr Lukashenko suggested discussing the situation in Ukraine to the participants of the session.
“At present the Ukrainian side is de facto wrapping up its participation in the operation of the Commonwealth of Independent States. Ukraine does not finance the common budget while it used to be the second largest contributor after Russia. Ukraine does not take part in planned events and has recalled the resident plenipotentiary representative,” noted the Belarusian leader. “Meanwhile, Ukraine is unlikely to quit the CIS,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said.
“I have talked a lot with Ukraine’s leadership telling them there is no need to make hasty decisions. If you don’t want to attend sessions, you are free not to do it like, for example, today. But there is no need to leave. It will be harder to rejoin later,” said the Belarus President. As an example he mentioned Georgia. “I think our friends in Ukraine understand it,” he added.
“First, the Georgian way of leaving while staying party to important agreements will lead to a number of objections on our part. Second, the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has stated that membership in the CIS allows tracking national interests in the region. In other words, the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs gives us a hint that Ukraine is not going to part ways with the CIS,” noted the Belarusian head of state.
Aleksandr Lukashenko stressed that Ukraine is very important for the CIS states and participants of the meeting should approach the Ukrainian issue in a more constructive manner.
At the session of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council the Belarusian President stressed that the Eurasian Economic Union has already acquired the shape of the robust integration association, despite the very difficult starting conditions.
"Launched just four months ago, our union has already acquired the shape of the robust integration association, despite the very difficult starting conditions. In a sense, the economic crisis has spurred the integration and contributed to more effective and coherent work,” the President of Belarus noted.
Aleksandr Lukashenko noted that this is the first session after the Eurasian Economic Union Treaty came into force. "For Belarus this stage is most responsible as we are holding the chairmanship in the Union," the Belarusian leader said.
He noted that the initiatives of both the Belarusian side and partners were supported and were reflected in the agenda of the meeting. "This is a positive sign that our constructive and sometimes critical remarks were taken into account by the Commission who quickly acted upon them," said the Belarusian head of state. “I hope that the practical results, including the removal of exemptions, creating the conditions for the growth of mutual trade, will follow soon,” underlined the Belarusian leader.
Aleksandr Lukashenko remarked that the session participants will need to take decisions on a number of important issues related to the functioning of the union. First of all, this is the negotiation of the protocols on the accession of the Kyrgyz partners to the EEU. "It took less than six months for the quartet to turn, as I believe, into a quintuple,” the Belarusian head of state said.
The commission made another important proposal: to start negotiations with China on the development of cooperation in trade and economy. The President of the Republic of Belarus considers it symbolic that this document is adopted during the official visit of the head of the People's Republic of China Xi Jinping to Russia and in the run-up to his state visit to Belarus.
The session participants are set to approve the concept of the common electrical energy market and a program to liberalize cabotage transport, and to continue the work on the liberalization of the services market.
Aleksandr Lukashenko thanked Vladimir Putin and in general the Russian side for the warm welcome and atmosphere created in the run-up to the 70th anniversary of the Great Victory.
After the session the heads of state signed all resolutions connected with the accession of Kyrgyzstan to the Eurasian Economic Union. Kyrgyzstan had managed to do a lot of work to equip the customs posts and veterinary labs in compliance with requirements of the Eurasian Economic Union. The presidents agreed to expedite the ratification procedures.
The presidents of the Eurasian Economic Union also approved a concept of the common electric energy market. Plans have been made to get the common electricity market operational by 2019. In the future there are plans to create a common market for other energy resources in the Eurasian Economic Union.
Apart from that, EEu leaders instructed the Eurasian Economic Commission to start working on a comprehensive agreement on partnership and cooperation with China. The large-scale agreement will be the first document of the kind in international cooperation of the Eurasian Economic Union. It will enable the basic conditions for advancing partnership of the sides.
The President of the Republic of Belarus also held a number of bilateral meetings. In particular, Aleksandr Lukashenko held talks with Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro, Vietnam President Truong Tan Sang, Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades, Serbia President Tomislav Nikolic, China President Xi Jinping and Slovakia Prime Minister Robert Fico.