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Putin calls Customs Union a historical choice for Russia

01 July 2010 19:33 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. The Customs Union that symbolizes Russia’s integration with its closest neighbors is a historical choice for the country, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said Thursday, APA reports quoting Xinhua News Agency.

"Despite certain concerns I am confident that we take a right step," Putin said at a government presidium meeting.

The prime minister added that the customs rules between Russia and Kazakhstan officially took effect on Thursday.

"Russia’s historical choice is to move along the path of integration with our closest neighbors and partners, to move towards economic rapprochement and to determine social norms with those countries and people Russia has been living with within one state for centuries," Putin said.

The prime minister, meanwhile, urged Belarus to engage in "full-fledged and mutually beneficial cooperation" concerning the customs bloc.

"I believe it is important for us to immediately start work in a tripartite format, with active involvement of our Belarus partners," Putin said.

Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov said Belarus might decide to join the customs bloc on July 5 in Astana, and the current customs posts on the borders between Russia, Kazakhstan and Belarus might disappear on July 1, 2011.

A July 5 meeting of the Eurasian Economic Community (EEC) Intergovernmental Council and Customs Union was scheduled to be held in the Kazakh capital Astana. There, a range of issues surrounding the prospects for EEC development and the fully fledged work of the Customs Union will be discussed.

The Customs Union between Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan formally came into existence on Jan. 1, but has been unable to take full force until disputes are resolved and the customs code goes into effect.