Putin met with Secretary of State of the Union State Mezentsev

Russian President Vladimir Putin met in the Kremlin with State Secretary of the Union State Dmitry Mezentsev, the Kremlin press service reports.

The Russian leader turned to the state secretary of the union state with a request to talk about the implementation of the plans. “How can we help in the implementation of those serious and interesting, important tasks that you face in the framework of your current work? I must say that you are working at a very useful and interesting time for the development of the Union State, its institutions, and the solution of the tasks that we set in this area in the interests of the citizens of both Russia and Belarus,” Putin said.

In turn, Mezentsev spoke about the implementation of allied programs, both in the economic and other areas.

“Vladimir Vladimirovich, presented [в презентации] brief information that, in addition to the huge backlog, which, thanks to your position and the position of the President of Belarus, has been designated as 28 programs for economic integration – a truly historic, breakthrough, large-scale decision – the mechanism of programs of the Union State, which is financed from the Union budget,” he said.

In the fall of 2021, the Presidents of Russia and Belarus, Vladimir Putin and Alexander Lukashenko, signed the integration decree of the Union State, approved the military doctrine and the migration concept. Such cooperation between the two countries has been discussed since 1999. As a result, last year the presidents agreed on union programs aimed at convergence and harmonization in macroeconomic, monetary and industrial policy, and tax legislation.

Earlier this week, on December 19, the leaders of the two states met in Minsk. Their negotiations continued more than 2.5 hours. Following the meeting with Lukashenka informedthat the countries agreed on a fixed price for gas in 2023, and added that the discussions concerned the concept of a single gas market and pricing for the next three years.

It was noted that during the meeting, the leaders intend to discuss issues of trade and economic cooperation “with an emphasis on import substitution”, cooperation in the energy sector and security issues in the region.