Lukashenka and Nazarbayev to become allies behind Russia’s back

The Kazakhstani President’s visit to Belarus resulted in an alliance between Kasakhstan and Belarus that doesn’t include Russia.

Belarus and Kazakhstan are considering establishing a Eurasian Economic Union, only in regards to the “green” corridor through Russia, in both directions – East-West and West-East. With such a union, Kazakhstan gets a free access to the European markets, while Belarus reached the Asian markets. Both countries want to benefit from the transit flows, AFN reports.

“Today it is important to effectively use the opportunities of the Common Economic Spare, and in future – the Eurasian Economic Union. It will take our relationships to a higher, completely new level. With free movements of goods, services, capital and human resources we’ll be able to maximize effectiveness of both Belarus and Kazakhstan,” Aliaksandar Lukashenka said today during the talks with the president of Kazakhstan.

Nzarbayev, in his turn, built on his vis-à-vis’ words:

“We wrote in the declarations that by 2013 Russia will be able to solve the problem of railway fees, and by 2015 the work with the monopolists from gas pipe-line transportation will be completed. And then we’ll embark on the process of establishment of the Eurasian Economic Union,” Kazakhstan’s president said.

“Belarus considers your country to be a platform for strengthening of our economic presence in the Central Asian region. We are ready to become Kazakhstan’s “Eastern gates” on your way to Europe,” Lukashenka tempted Kazakhstan’s head.

Nazarbayev was talking about the necessity to create a transport corridor Western Europe-Eastern China.

”We can reduce with 50% the time and route of goods transported from Europe to China and back,” Lukashenka agreed with him. According to the Belarusian president, this issue will be discussed tomorrow, on 15 May, during his meeting with Russia’s president Vladimir Putin.

Kazakhstan and Belarus await an unimpeded transit through Russia. Such transit will undoubtedly enhance the investment climate of specific sector of the Belarusian economy.

“We expect the new terms to activate investment cooperation. We hope that the Kazakh capital will participate in the privatization processes in our country,” Lukashenka said. He clearly had his goals when inviting Kazakh investors to Belarus.

”We are determined to thoroughly study this issue, and to participate in the privatization of those Belarusian enterprises that we are interested in,” Nazarbayev said. He emphasied Kazakhstan’s interest to the Belarusian state property, which is growing before the “new terms” (completing of the work with the Russian transportation monopolists) are realized in 2015.

With other words, the two-day informal meeting in Viskuli (Belaviezhskaya puscha) was a success. Lukashenka and Nazarbayev managed to reach an agreement in their similar, yet different concerns, and enhance their alliance that excludes Russia.