Charhinets: Constitutional Act kept in Moscow

Vadzim Papow, chairman of the House of Representatives, said last week that a draft Constitutional Act of the Russian-Belarusian Union State has been finalized and will be submitted to the two countries' leaders for consideration on November 3.

Mikalay Charhinets, a member of Belarus' upper parliamentary chamber, the Council of the Republic, said the document poses no threat to the country's independence.

"Article 1 of the Constitutional Act provides that the sides retain full independence, territorial integrity and all attributes such as the symbol, anthem and flag, as well as membership of all international organizations, including the UN," he told Euroradio.

Although the draft has been finalized it is still unclear who will govern the so-called Union State.

"The question remains open just like the banking matters and the single currency issue," Charhinets noted. "The draft is kept in Moscow in the working group. They would not show it because this may a 20th version that will spark an unnecessary discussion of something that has not been clarified yet."

Charhinets stressed that the draft would not allow for the deployment of nuclear weapons in Belarus. He said that it would take effect only if the Belarusians and Russians approve it at a referendum.

Political analyst Yury Shautsou is confident that the act would not endanger Belarus' independence. "If it is based on the Union State Treaty, Belarus would benefit in terms of independence from Russia. Our relations with Russia are built in a way that we have many lobbyist groups in Russia that advance Belarusian interests. If Belarus gets more legal political opportunities to assert its interests with the help of the Union State, it would be better," he explained.

He added that the Constitutional Act is likely to commit Belarus to place its air defenses under Russia's command and recognize Abkhazia and South Ossetia as independent states.

Stanislaw Shushkevich, former Belarusian parliamentary speaker who put his signature under the treaty dissolving the Soviet Union, argues that the act is a direct threat to Belarus as an independent nation.

"This is yet another step to end Belarus' independence. But I should stress that this country has neither a legitimate president nor a legitimate parliament. All these acts do not matter for the international community and the international law," he told Euroradio.

Shushkevich is concerned about the possibility of Russia deploying nuclear weapons to Belarus. "Belarus is a nuclear-free zone. This has been codified in a number of international agreements. It would be a very aggressive move by our neighbour to try to site nuclear weapons here. There is no bigger threat to Belarus."