Belarusian MP quarreled with Zatulin over Ukraine
The declaration of Ukraine's withdrawal from the CIS is not confirmed in practice.
Russian State Duma deputy Konstantin Zatulin announced this today at a press conference in Moscow.
“Representatives of Ukraine participate in the work of CIS bodies. A meeting on railway transport has just taken place. And railway workers from Ukraine take part in it - where can they go - despite all the political declarations.
Ukraine has denounced a number of mainly military-political agreements within the CIS, but continues to participate in all others. Because life demands it. Despite any political situation,” stated Zatulin.
Deputy of the House of Representatives of the National Assembly of Belarus Valery Voronetsky entered into a debate with him.
“I beg to differ with the approach of Russian politicians. When, speaking about Ukrainian railway workers, a colleague said: where will they go? The approach is wrong. With this approach, it is very difficult to build trust between countries and elites. We need to learn mutually respectful dialogue,” Voronetsky said.
He believes that the CIS and the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) have not achieved even the short-term goals that were set for them. Following his country's president, Alexander Lukashenko, he criticized Russia.
“It is obvious to everyone that Russia plays a key role in the EAEU. Therefore, there is special demand from her. She is interested in making this project promising and attractive. Today we observe selfish approaches in national elites.
Some representatives of the EAEU countries, instead of thinking about creating the most favorable approaches for the entire Eurasian space, are engaged in protectionism and strive to provide the best conditions for their countries. That is, such a somewhat consumerist approach. This is very dangerous and does not contribute to the development of integration,” Voronetsky added.
In response, Zatulin recalled that Belarus and Kazakhstan are slowing down the creation of mechanisms that would speed up integration. For example, a parliamentary association within the EAEU.
“When we talk about integration, we must understand that it cannot be a buffet. From which you can take something and leave something. If we go for integration, then we need to consider it holistically: not only in the economic sphere.
After all, the composition of the EAEU coincides with the composition of the CSTO participants. Isn't this a reason to talk not only about economics, but also about politics? Why are some of our partners shy away, suspecting this is an attempt to recreate the Soviet Union in a veiled form. We have no such plans.
But let's pay attention to the development of the European Union. Is such a discrepancy possible in the assessment of the same events? Do we have discipline within the union? Is everyone here without sin?
On conflict issues that arise in the world, we very often take different positions and believe that this is normal. We in Russia are not going to force anyone. But we evaluate these positions,” Zatulin retorted.
He was supported by Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Kyrgyzstan Alikbek Dzhekshenkulov.
“Your approaches are interesting and deserve attention, but the national interests of the elites do not always coincide with the interests of the state. So far it turns out like this: the more the state has, the more conversations there are. I would urge my colleagues to appreciate what we have within the framework of integration processes,” he said, addressing the Belarusian deputy.
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