MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Treaty on the Creation of a Union State of Russia and Belarus was signed in December 1999 and entered into force in 2000. Prior to this, Russia and Belarus had other forms of cooperation. The Commonwealth of Belarus and Russia was founded in 1996, while it transformed a year later into the Union of Belarus and Russia.
"The project of the Union State is the most advanced in every sense integration project in the post-Soviet area," Petrishenko said, adding that Minsk and Moscow were maintaining parliamentary cooperation, resolving issues related to military security, foreign policy and cultural cooperation, among others.
Speaking about the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), Petrishenko said that it was formed solely as an economic union, aimed to ensure the movement of goods, services, capital and workforce.
"The Eurasian Economic Union and the Union State have a lot in common. However, the two [states] can reach an agreement easier than the five. Some issues in the Union State are solved faster and better. First of all, the economic issues. Therefore, a significant potential of 'the two' must be by maximum involved in the process of forming the Eurasian Economic Union," the diplomat said.
The EAEU, comprising Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan, is an international organization that encourages regional economic integration through the free movement of goods, services, and people within the union.
