Medvedev urges Lukashenka to stop “meat and milk hysterics”
- 15.06.2009, 13:51
The Russian president believes that the Belarusian leader does not act in the way partners should act.
It has been stated by Dmitry Medvedev at the press-conference after the session of the Council of the heads of states of the CSTO in Moscow.
On Sunday the Belarusian delegation didn’t arrive to the CSTO summit, explaining its step by “economic discrimination” by one of the counties-participants. Minsk’s displeasure was caused by limitations on Belarusian dairy products imposed by Russia.
“It is better to solve economic issues in immediate bilateral contacts, not shifting the load of responsibility for bilateral economic problems to multilateral format, which guarantee life and security in a number of states,” Medvedev said.
“In the long run, it is the decision of our partners certainly, and we taking it in our stride, we are not dramatizing anything, we are sure that the Belarusian side would estimate all the benefits of returning to the discussion over the issue of membership and signing the agreement on the collective rapid reaction force… I hope that this meat and milk hysterics won’t spoil the work on the collective rapid reaction force,” the Russian president stated.
As said by him, Russia is a very important market for Belarus, but it is advisable to keep to rules and quotes for import. “On the whole, it was a technical question, which could be solved rather quickly, if it were not for its excessive politicizing, or the desire to connect the decision to bilateral issues,” Medvedev said.
The leader of the state reminded that Russia gives Belarus considerable financial resources, and Belarus delivers about 93% of the volume of its milk and meat export to Russia.
“All bilateral problems should be solved during consultations, which strictly speaking were underway with our Belarusian partners, and on the milk issue as well,” Medvedev stated. “It is a technical issue,” the Russian president underlined, NEWSru.com informs.
“Lukashenka acts not like partners do”
The Russian president believes that his Belarusian counterpart Alyaksandr Lukashenka acted not in a way partners should act, by not calling me and informing personally about the decision not to participate in the CSTO summit in connection with conflict on milk problem.
“I would like to say that in such a situation people usually act like partners. What does it mean? It would be nice to take a receiver and call. But that hasn’t been done,” Medvedev said at the pres-conference after the CSTO summit session in Moscow speaking to journalists.
“Mr Lukashenka hasn’t called me, and hasn’t told me he is going to adopt a decision not to come, though representatives of his administration called us,” the Russian president said.
On Sunday the Belarusian delegation failed to arrive to the CSTO summit, explaining the move by “economic discrimination” by one of the participating countries. Minsk’s discontent had been caused by the Russian Federal Consumer Rights Protection and Human Health Control Service which banned import of about 500 names of Belarusian dairy products, and later 800 more dairy products as “Belarusian enterprises had failed to execute documents required by Russian technical regulations”.