Armenian PM Nikol Pashinyan and Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko have discussed Eurasian Union issues, BelTA reported.
According to Lukashenko, there are many issues in the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) which are primarily because 'we have failed to fulfill the agreements reached earlier.'
“There's no concealing the fact that there are a lot of problems in the EAEU. We have not fulfilled what we have agreed on. We still have many barriers. Business often complains about them and even suggests setting the borders between the states to make it be easier for them. We do no have borders, but the tension at the border is excessive. You feel it as well as I do. So there is something to work on. But I would very much like to see the meeting of the prime ministers [the Eurasian Intergovernmental Council meeting in Minsk] give an impetus to the efforts to solve these problems,” Lukashenko noted.
He noted that the Eurasian Intergovernmental Council was a certain step towards the deepening of relations in the Eurasian Union. “The exchange of views was very serious. As far as I was told, you were very active during the meeting," he said.
According to him, Belarus and Armenia have similar issues in the Eurasian Economic Union, similar economies.
“We rely on the real economic sector. We are not so rich in resources as our neighbors. Maybe Kyrgyzstan is also in the same situation, although it may have it better. We have no such resources of hydrocarbons. Even with lower prices Kazakhstan and Russia have better opportunities. We have no such opportunities,” Aleksandr Lukashenko noted.
According to Armenian PM Pashinyan, "issues in the development of the Eurasian Economic Union can be solved if there is a political will of the leadership of the participating countries."
The PM expressed confidence that in the future the Eurasian Union member states will continue the process of convergence and removing obstacles at various levels.
“I think if we manage to keep the political will at the current level, all issues will be resolved. We just need to work on it,” Nikol Pashinyan noted.
