Russia, Belarus Plan Merger

The presidents of Russia and Belarus agreed Friday to take steps to merge the two former Soviet republics into a single state as early as next year.

Russian news reports said the proposed merger would be put to a public vote, but the text of the statement signed by Russia's President Boris Yeltsin and Belarus' President Alexander Lukashenko called only for "public discussion."

The presidents said they would move early next year to introduce a single currency and harmonize taxes -- without waiting for popular approval.

"We are now calling for merging our nations in one union state," Yeltsin said at a news conference after the meeting in the Kremlin. "We can be proud of such work."

Lukashenko said, "God help us to enter the next millennium as a single state."

The two leaders have long pledged to take further integration steps but have done little. It remains unclear whether Friday's agreements will be implemented because many Russian politicians oppose a merger.

The authoritarian Lukashenko has long pushed for uniting his nation of 10 million people with Russia's 147 million people. In 1996, he and Yeltsin signed a union agreement, boosting political, economic and military ties between the two nations, but stopping short of creating one state.

Top Russian officials said there is no immediate plan to merge the two nations' armed forces or pool the government coffers.

Lukashenko wants a merger to solve Belarus' economic problems, which have already led to food rationing in some regions. The Belarusian economy is one of the most unreformed in the former Soviet Union, with almost all assets and markets under government control.

"The man who has brought his nation to a deadlock is now desperately trying to find a way out," Semyon Sharetsky, an opposition leader in Belarus, said of Lukashenko.

In an immediate step to ease Belarusian economic woes, Yeltsin and Lukashenko agreed to allow Russian and Belarusian companies to import goods from each other at domestic prices. The agreement is crucial for Belarus, which relies on Russia's energy resources and has run up a huge debt.

Domestic prices for Russia's oil and natural gas are still far below the world market price.

Apart from the economic interests, many politicians in both nations believe that the main motive behind Lukashenko's drive for union is his ambition to run for the Russian presidency.

Russian liberals and the West have assailed Lukashenko for his crackdown on the opposition and the independent media. Many Russian Communists and other hard-liners publicly hail the proposed merger, but fear the Belarusian president would push them to the sidelines if he joins Russia's presidential race.

The Russian government, struggling with the worst economic crisis since the Soviet collapse, has been lukewarm on the merger with even poorer Belarus.

Yeltsin, plagued by por health in recent years, appeared tired at the meeting, although he spoke clearly and strongly. At one point, he struggled to get up from a chair and had to be helped by an aide.

After months of travel plans canceled due to ill health, Yeltsin may travel to France in January, his spokesman said Friday. Russian media and politicians -- including Yeltsin's own aides -- have speculated that Yeltsin's health problems would rule out any foreign travel during the rest of his term, which runs out in mid-2000.

Written By Vladimir Isachenkov