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Union of Writers of Belarusian-Russian Union State was established to revive relations between Belarus and Russia, Charhinets says

The Union of Writers of the Belarusian-Russian Union State of Belarus was established to revive relations between Belarus and Russia, the chairman of the Union of Writers of Belarus, Mikalay Charhinets, told reporters in Minsk on Tuesday.

The Union of Writers of the Union State currently has more than 800 members and about 350 of them are Belarusians, Mr. Charhinets said.

According to him, the relationship between Belarus and Russia has recently lost its earlier momentum following oil and gas rows. "This was to some extent caused by misunderstanding between officials who started taking sharp steps while keeping within the limits of friendship between the two countries," he explained. "They tried to persuade each other that it was necessary to do things the way each of them wanted them to be done."

Writers and intellectuals decided that the time had come for them to speak their mind and thus to "force high-ranking politicians to understand that the most important thing is to care about the fate and good of their people."

That was the reason the Union of Writers of the Belarusian-Russian Union State was established in 2010, Mr. Charhinets said, adding that the two countries' presidents welcomed the new organization, and that authors in other countries had wanted to become members of the union.

Mr. Charhinets noted that modern authors should be up-to-date with economic, political and social relations within the Union State. “This is needed to answer the question worrying everyone: what should be done to improve the life of our people?” he said. //BelaPAN