Belarus welcomes accession of new partners to Customs Union
By Aynur Jafarova
Belarus welcomes the joining of new partners to the Russia-backed Customs Union, which comprises the two countries and Kazakhstan, and offers to develop constructive mechanisms for interaction with these countries, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said during a session of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council on October 24.
"Belarus unconditionally welcomes the joining of new partners to the Customs Union. This makes it more stable. Therefore, the doors of our union are always open to other countries," the president said.
The Customs Union was established in 2010. The purpose of the organization is to form a single customs territory within which no customs duties or economic restrictions are applied. The single economic space of the Customs Union started operating on January 1, 2012.
Touching on the issue of Ukraine's membership in the organization, Lukashenko cited the importance for Ukraine, which is advancing towards the European Union, "to close the possibility" to join the Customs Union, as well as in the Eurasian Economic Union in the future.
Ukraine, which has declared a strategic course toward European integration, plans to sign an association agreement with the EU at the end of 2013. At the same time, Kyiv has announced its goal to join some regulations of the Customs Union. Moscow has offered Kyiv to join the Customs Union, promising in return to supply energy resources for concessional prices. The Ukrainian government proposes cooperation with the union in the "three plus one" format, i.e. involving Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan plus Ukraine.
In January, President Viktor Yanukovych said that Ukraine should consider bringing into compliance its laws to some norms of the Customs Union, which would not contradict the country's international obligations.
During the Council meeting Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan have backed the intentions of Armenia and Kyrgyzstan to join the Customs Union.
"We supported the intentions of Armenia and Kyrgyzstan to join our integration program," Putin said.
The Russian president also said a working group has been established and instructed to develop a relevant road map for the accession of Armenia and Kyrgyzstan to the integration program in the shortest time possible.
In September, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said that his country will render overall support to Kyrgyzstan for its joining the Customs Union.
Kyrgyz Prime Minister Jantoro Satybaldiyev believes that Kyrgyzstan has expressed its political will by stating its aspiration to join the Customs Union, but there are several challenges in this regard and Kyrgyzstan needs political support from the member countries to resolve them.
Some experts believe that the accession of Kyrgyzstan to the Russian-backed Customs Union would lead to many negative consequences, including a significant increase of prices in the country, which would make Kyrgyzstan dependent on other members of the organization.
However, other analysts think that after joining the union, Kyrgyzstan will be able to receive raw materials from the organization's member states more profitably.
Armenia's unexpected decision surprised numerous politicians and experts. The country blocked its chances of signing an agreement on establishing a free trade zone with the European Union.
Experts conclude that Armenia's accession to the Customs Union would not bring significant economic benefits as the country has no common borders with the countries of the Union. According to them, the only possible change after Armenia's accession to the Union may be simplification of migration processes.
Furthermore, during the meeting Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev offered admitting Turkey to the Customs Union.
Earlier Sergey Markov, the deputy chairman of the working group on international cooperation and public diplomacy of Russia's Public Chamber, said that if Azerbaijan joins the Customs Union this would most likely be done jointly with Turkey.
The focus of Azerbaijan's economy on energy does not require its involvement in the Customs Union. However, it would be extremely beneficial for Turkey with its strong manufacturing economy -- including the development of the light industry, agriculture and other sectors -- to participate in such a union, Markov said.