OREANDA-NEWS. November 24, 2009.  Belarus has developed a final stance on its participation in the Customs Union. The President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko has held a meeting on the Customs Union formation on 23 November.

Taking part in the meeting were Head of the Belarus President Administration Vladimir Makei, Deputy Prime Minister of Belarus Andrei Kobyakov, Chairman of the Presidium of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus (NASB) Mikhail Myasnikovich. It is the second meeting on this topic in November this year. The first one (which was a broader participation meeting) was held on 17 November. At that meeting Alexander Lukashenko gave an instruction to develop proposals specifying Belarus’ stance on this issue.

The head of state informed that a session of the EurAsEC Interstate Council will be held in Minsk on 27 November at which the presidents of Belarus, Kazakhstan and Russia will discuss the Customs Union formation and the single economic area in the future. The sides are to sign documents that will launch the Customs Union of the three states.

“At the previous meeting we thoroughly discussed all the problems of the Customs Union formation. We heard sincere opinions of people who advocate this union and people who see certain problems in it. Then some issues emerged, and we agreed that we would take seven or ten days to coordinate the positions to elaborate the country’s stance on the Customs Union,” Alexander Lukashenko said.

The President got familiar with the final proposals prepared by the participants of the session and noted that “these are well-thought-out approaches.”

Belarus’ final decision to join the Customs Union is based on the assessment of possible consequences for the country’s economic and political security.

Belarus expects that this new integration association will be based on equal rights and equal benefits, freedom of movement of goods and services, generally accepted non-tariff regulation, equal economic terms and removal of unjustified barriers to mutual trade.

The President believes that the interests of the countries in the Customs Union should be mutual and balanced.