Belarus in favor of integration at varying speed in post-Soviet space

         Belarus upholds the idea of integration at varying speed in the post-Soviet space, Foreign Minister of Belarus Vladimir Makei said in an interview with the RIA Novosti and BelTA news agencies. “All integration projects involving Belarus are a priority for us. All these projects complement each other in a way. Each of them deals with specific matters and cooperation areas. Each state that considers joining any integration project seeks to get certain benefits, dividends from its participation. This is the very essence of integration,” the Foreign Minister said. In his words, the CIS, for example, was a kind of shock-absorber after the collapse of the Soviet Union. It helped restore broken links between economic operators. “The CIS is still one of the biggest integration unions, a major integration platform on the post-Soviet space,” Vladimir Makei said. The Foreign Minister noted that Belarus and Russia were the first to realize the need for a higher level integration. “Now the Union State is the pinnacle of political cooperation, economic and military ties, mutual social protection of citizens, humanization of legislation,” Vladimir Makei said.