Anatoly Rubinov: within a single customs territory there should be neither customs control nor duties

Within a single customs territory there should be neither customs control nor customs duties while transporting goods across the borders of the Customs Union member countries. Such an idea was expressed by deputy chairman of the Council of the Republic of Belarus’ National Assembly, academician Anatoly Rubinov in the article “Belarusian model. Some political issues at the present stage” that was published in the journal “Belaruskaya Dumka” (“Belarusian Views”).

Within a single customs territory there should be neither customs control nor customs duties while transporting goods across the borders of the Customs Union member countries. Such an idea was expressed by deputy chairman of the Council of the Republic of Belarus’ National Assembly, academician Anatoly Rubinov in the article “Belarusian model. Some political issues at the present stage” that was published in the journal “Belaruskaya Dumka” (“Belarusian Views”).

He noted that at present it is really difficult to understand the goals of Russian policy with respect to Belarus. "On the one hand, Russia is very jealous of our contacts with the West, in particular, of our participation in the project “Eastern Partnership”,” said Anatoly Rubinov. “And on the other – it deliberately displaces Belarus from the market, thereby pushing it towards closer relations with the EU. So, I fail to understand what Russia expects to win from such an approach.”

According to him, the majority of Russians and Belarusians take the occasional conflicts between the two countries hard. Excessively pragmatic attitude of Russia does not correspond to its historical traditions either.

The parliamentarian has also reminded of the other side of the issue. Natural resources of the Soviet Union used to be common. They were not assigned to individual republics or regions. Exploration and development of deposits as well as pipeline construction were carried out jointly by all Soviet nations, including Belarusians. "When the USSR disintegrated, Russia, in essence, assumed the right to use these deposits and doesn’t allow the former republics anywhere near their operation,” emphasizes Anatoly Rubinov.

According to BelTA