ZAVIDOVO (Tver region), July 26 (RIA Novosti) - President Vladimir Putin spoke in favor of the unification of Russia and Belarus at his meeting with the Nashi (Ours) political youth movement at the Zavidovo state residence.
"Russia needs the union. We need it in a geopolitical sense and most important of all, we are a single nation on the whole," Putin said.
"We do not want to offend those who value Belarusian culture, language and history, which we are proud of as well. However, in a broad sense, we are a single nation and we will only benefit if we unite, having gained advantages in relations with other countries," he said.
The agreement on the formation of a Russia-Belarus union state was signed in December of 1999. However, a constitution has still not been drafted and the introduction of a single currency is permanently postponed.
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said Tuesday that disagreements on the draft constitution still remain an obstacle. Russia sees the formation of a union state based on the experience of the European Union while Belarus wants it to resemble the Soviet Union.
