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Accounting Chamber to Examine Russian-Belarusian Agreement
Sergey Stepashin, chairman of the Russian Accounting Chamber, has suggested taking inventory of the trade agreement between Moscow and Minsk at a closed session of the State Duma Council. This proposal was made known to Duma members by chairman of the Committee on CIS Affairs Andrey Kokoshin, who commented, “I think we'll support the proposal.” He added, “Not all bilateral agreements are working, they need correcting.”
Kokoshin noted that another proposal made at the Council meeting was to raise the budget of the Union State by 20 percent in 2008. Duma speaker Boris Gryzlov had noted earlier that the 2008 budget was already 30-percent higher than it had been in 2006.
Duma members commented that Belarus has been unable to take advantage of the main advantage it has received, that is, open Russian markets and cheap fuel. No other country has ever received such broad support from Russia for such a lengthy period, Gryzlov noted. In spite of that support, Belarus has no modernized its economy, and maximum transparency is needed in relations between the Russian and Belarusian economies, he said.
“We support Belarus and will support it with financial and economic measures,” Gryzlov said. “Russia will help the republic implement its sovereign right and not allow it to be isolated internationally. But we will not allow anyone to use our support against the national interests of Russia… Russia's attempts to impose elementary order in economic affairs should not be seen as an attack on the idea of the Union State.”
Besides a number of points in economic agreements that have yet to be implemented, other problems remain. “What kind of free trade can you have when, according to information from the Russian Ministry of Economic Development and Trade, there are 59 restrictions in force in Belarus on Russian goods. For example, state purchases are prohibited.”
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