Agreement on Eurasian Economic Union to be signed in Astana
RFE/RL based on reporting by Interfax and ITAR-TASS 26 May 2014, 23:38
The presidents of Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Russia plan to sign their agreement on creation of the Eurasian Economic Union (EES) at a summit in the Kazakh capital, Astana, on May 29.
The Kremlin press service said on May 26 that the agreement will come into force on January 1, 2015. The EES will be based on the Customs Union, which currently consists of the three countries.
According to the Kremlin's statement, the new economic bloc "will become the largest common market within the CIS."
Presidents Vladimir Putin of Russia, Alyaksandr Lukashenka of Belarus, and Nursultan Nazarbaev of Kazakhstan will also discuss Armenia's joining the EES and Kyrgyzstan's road map for joining the Customs Union and the EES.
Moscow said earlier that the EES will be modeled after the European Union.
