Belarus says no CSTO decisions can be taken in its absence

15:2014/06/2009

MINSK, June 14 (RIA Novosti) – Belarus, which has pulled out of
Sunday’s summit of the post-Soviet CSTO security bloc in protest
against trade restrictions, has said no summit decisions will be valid
without its involvement.

Russia has infuriated Minsk by banning imports of the country’s dairy
products, citing violations of new Russian standards.

The Belarusian Foreign Ministry said in a note handed to the Collective
Security Treaty Organization’s secretariat that the country’s
non-participation "means the lack of approval from the Republic of
Belarus of decisions being considered" at the summit, along with the
foreign and defense ministers’ meetings, and "consequently a lack of
consensus for the taking of these decisions."

The Belarusian government earlier said it would refuse to send a
delegation to the summit, in protest against "economic discrimination"
on the part of Russia. However, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov
said that draft documents could be passed without Minsk’s involvement.

Earlier in June, Russia banned imports of over 1,000 types of dairy
products from Belarus, dealing a significant blow to its budget
revenue, saying producers in the ex-Soviet republic had failed to
comply with new Russian regulations.

The summit of the Collective Security Treaty Organization comprising
Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Uzbekistan and
Tajikistan was preceded by a meeting of the CSTO Council of Foreign
Ministers.