According to the Russian Satellite News Agency, on November 4, local time, the Supreme Council of State of the Russian and Belarusian Union countries held a video conference, during which the "Decree aimed at implementing the integration of the Union States" was signed.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, who attended the meeting, said: "Today's meeting of the Supreme Council of State of the Russian-Belarusian Union is of particular significance. We will adopt a series of documents aimed at further developing and deepening the economic, political and military integration of Russia and Belarus. ”
The outside world noted that the decree signed by the two sides covers 28 industry integration plans, involving macroeconomic strategies, unified tariffs, financial credit, industry, agriculture, oil and gas, electricity and logistics and transportation services, etc., and clarifies the basic direction for the implementation of the treaty establishing the Russian-Belarusian Union from 2021 to 2023.
Putin also pointed out that the establishment of coalition countries not only means economic integration, but also strengthens coordination between the two sides in all other areas, including politics and defense. Putin stressed that "Russia and Belarus will jointly resist any attempt to interfere in the internal affairs of sovereign states."
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said the decree signed on the same day marked another important step in the road to establishing a coalition state between the two countries, "the two countries have withstood the test of external pressure, and the Russian-Belarusian alliance is becoming stronger."
In addition, Lukashenko highlighted military cooperation between Russia and Belarus, stressing at the meeting:
"Recent events have shown that the regional forces of the Allied countries are reliable shields not only for the security of both countries, but also for the entire post-Soviet space. Nor did I and the President of Russia hide our intention to strengthen this force in the future. ”
The so-called "Russian-Belarusian union countries" are not something new. In 1996, five years after the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russia and Belarus established the "Russian-Belarusian Community" . In 1997, the two countries signed the Treaty of The Alliance between Russia and Belarus, under which the "Russian-Belarusian Community" was renamed the "Russian-Belarusian Union".
In 1998, the two countries again signed the "State Treaty on the Establishment of the Russian-Belarusian Union," which sought to reshape a Soviet-style federation with a common head of state, legislature, flag, coat of arms, anthem, constitution, army, citizenship, and currency.
On December 22, 1999, eight years after the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russia ratified the alliance. On 26 January 2000, Belarus ratified the Union. The next day, the treaty entered into force and the "Russian-Belarusian Union States" or simply "Russian-Belarusian Union States" were established.
Since then, Russia and Belarus have reached relatively deep cooperation on citizenship and military cooperation, while progress in other areas of political integration has been extremely slow.
Despite the establishment of central bodies such as the Supreme Council of State of the Confederate States and the bicameral Federal Parliament, the Russian-Belarusian Union countries are more like a supranational decentralized alliance like the "Au- or the Union of American States" because both countries emphasize the retention of their sovereignty and international power, rather than the supra-sovereign structure similar to the "Soviet Union" or the "European Union" envisaged in the treaty.
Interestingly, the two countries have not yet established any political symbols for the coalition countries, including the national emblem, military insignia, and national anthem. But previously, a song called "Union of Sovereign States" was proposed as the national anthem of the Countries of the Russian-Belarusian Union. The outside world has noticed that the song is adapted from the National Anthem of the Soviet Union.
Public information shows that in addition to Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova and Serbia outside the CIS have all expressed "interest" or joined the Russian-Belarusian Union countries under certain conditions.
However, since the establishment of the "Eurasian Economic Union" led by Russia in 2015, the issue of economic integration within the former CIS has gradually been stripped from the framework of the "Russian-Belarusian Union countries", and the integration and development process of the union countries has in fact been blocked again and has been in a long-term stalemate.
In a sense, in 2021, Russia and Belarus will join hands to seek to deepen integration and cooperation, especially in the economic aspects, marking that the "Russian-Belarusian Union Countries" program, which has been dormant for nearly 20 years, is finally expected to embark on the fast track.
But as to whether this ambitious plan can reshape a Soviet giant, or how far it can go in the current complex geopolitical situation in Eastern Europe and even internationally, the outside world can only wait and see.
Image source: Goodbye Lenin
The author 丨 Zhang Sinan, the main writer of straight news, is a special commentator of Shenzhen Satellite TV's "Live Broadcasting, Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan".
Typography 丨 Zhang Jing