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RUSSIA LURES ARMENIA TO TRADE BLOC AFTER UKRAINE, BELARUS SPATS
BusinessWeek / Bloomberg
Sept 3 2013
By Stepan Kravchenko September 03, 2013
Armenia will join a Russian-led customs union, bolstering President
Vladimir Putin's designs for closer integration between former Soviet
states days after disputes rattled his country's ties with Belarus
and Ukraine.
Armenia plans to "join the customs union, undertaking practical steps
for that purpose, and later to take part in forming the Eurasian
Economic Union," Putin and his Armenian counterpart, Serzh Sargsyan,
said today in a joint statement distributed to reporters after a
meeting at the Russian leader's residence near Moscow.
Putin has championed Russia's alliance with Belarus and Kazakhstan
to strengthen economic ties among former Soviet republics, promising
reduced natural-gas prices to Ukraine if it agreed to join the trade
bloc. The three former Soviet republics, with a combined population of
about 170 million people and more than $2 trillion in combined output,
created a single economic space on Jan. 1, 2012.
STORY: Why Is Vladimir Putin Acting So Crazy?
The government of Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko arrested the
Russian head of OAO Uralkali, the world's biggest potash producer,
last week, prompting Russia to raise scrutiny of its neighbor's
products including pork and announcing plans to reduce oil flows.
Ukraine's Prime Minister Mykola Azarov has linked delays experienced
by Ukrainian exporters on the border with Russia last month to
disagreements between the two countries over the customs union.
Russia will assist Armenia's bid "to the utmost," Putin said in
the statement.
The joint economic bloc, which plans further policy integration
to become the Eurasian Economic Union by 2015, wants to coordinate
economic and currency policy and adopt unified visa and migration
rules. Putin has said that the alliance of former Soviet countries
will help reduce global imbalances and fuel integration across
"Greater Europe."
http://www.businessweek.com/news/2013-09-03/russia-lures-armenia-to-trade-bloc-after-ukraine-belarus-spats
BusinessWeek / Bloomberg
Sept 3 2013
By Stepan Kravchenko September 03, 2013
Armenia will join a Russian-led customs union, bolstering President
Vladimir Putin's designs for closer integration between former Soviet
states days after disputes rattled his country's ties with Belarus
and Ukraine.
Armenia plans to "join the customs union, undertaking practical steps
for that purpose, and later to take part in forming the Eurasian
Economic Union," Putin and his Armenian counterpart, Serzh Sargsyan,
said today in a joint statement distributed to reporters after a
meeting at the Russian leader's residence near Moscow.
Putin has championed Russia's alliance with Belarus and Kazakhstan
to strengthen economic ties among former Soviet republics, promising
reduced natural-gas prices to Ukraine if it agreed to join the trade
bloc. The three former Soviet republics, with a combined population of
about 170 million people and more than $2 trillion in combined output,
created a single economic space on Jan. 1, 2012.
STORY: Why Is Vladimir Putin Acting So Crazy?
The government of Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko arrested the
Russian head of OAO Uralkali, the world's biggest potash producer,
last week, prompting Russia to raise scrutiny of its neighbor's
products including pork and announcing plans to reduce oil flows.
Ukraine's Prime Minister Mykola Azarov has linked delays experienced
by Ukrainian exporters on the border with Russia last month to
disagreements between the two countries over the customs union.
Russia will assist Armenia's bid "to the utmost," Putin said in
the statement.
The joint economic bloc, which plans further policy integration
to become the Eurasian Economic Union by 2015, wants to coordinate
economic and currency policy and adopt unified visa and migration
rules. Putin has said that the alliance of former Soviet countries
will help reduce global imbalances and fuel integration across
"Greater Europe."
http://www.businessweek.com/news/2013-09-03/russia-lures-armenia-to-trade-bloc-after-ukraine-belarus-spats