Frank Pallone: “Mr. Speaker, I wanted to speak, if I could for a few minutes, on the issue of independence for the Belarus Republic. Mr.…”

“Mr. Speaker, I wanted to speak, if I could for a few minutes, on the issue of independence for the Belarus Republic. Mr. Speaker, on March 22, 1996, Belarusan President, Aleksandr Lukashenka met with Russian President Boris Yeltsin to discuss a new union state. The following day, Lukashenka met with Russian Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin to discuss the plan, which would politically, economically, and culturally tie Belarus with Russia. The collapse of the Soviet Union humiliated and disgraced this former global superpower. The Russian Duma has recently voted to declare void the 1991 agreement dissolving the Soviet Union--a declaration which America must clearly not recognize as having any validity. Now, in an attempt to save face and regain some of the lost Soviet power, President Yeltsin and President Lukashenka are acting to reintegrate the independent Republic of Belarus with Russia. This new confederacy, open to all of the former Soviet Republics, would place Russia at its core. The two leaders discussed the possibility of one currency and a single constitution. Belarus' geographical location puts it in a particularly vulnerable position for the reintegration plan. In addition, Belarusans were the last to leave the Soviet Union, while its government has been the most willing to rejoin forces with Russia.”