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Belarus set to rejoin customs union with Kazakhstan, Russia by July 1

 

Belarus plans to rejoin its customs union with Kazakhstan and Russia and ratify its Customs Code before the union comes into full existence on July 1, Economy Minister Mikalay Snapkow told reporters in Moscow on June 4.

When asked as to whether Minsk would ratify the Customs Code by July 1, Mr. Snapkow said that "being aware of the economic necessity of this process, I believe that the answer is yes," according to Russia's RIA Novosti news agency.

Referring to a recent meeting between Alyaksandr Lukashenka and Igor Shuvalov, Russia's deputy prime minister, Mr. Snapkow said that the talks had confirmed the readiness of Minsk and Moscow to settle their disputes and move ahead with the establishment of the union on July 1.

Last week Kazakhstan and Russia agreed to put the union into full-scale operation on July 1 on a bilateral basis without Belarus after Belarusian Prime Minister Syarhey Sidorski boycotted May 28 talks in St. Petersburg in protest against Russia’ export duty on crude oil supplied to Belarus.

Speaking after the meeting, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said that Belarus was welcome to join the customs union when it was ready.

On Friday Mr. Snapkow sidestepped a question about the export duty dispute, saying that it "will be settled on the level on which it may be settled."

He announced that despite the establishment of the customs union, Belarus would not raise the rates of its import duty on automobiles to Russia's level.

When asked to comment, Russian Economy Minister Elvira Nabiullina failed to say when Belarus would have to bring its car import duties to Russia's level.

She confirmed that the Customs Union of Belarus, Kazakhstan and Russia would be put into full-scale operation the following month. "There are some disagreements remaining but we still have some time left to make a final decision," she said. //BelaPAN