State Duma ratifies agreement on Eurasian Economic Union
The lower house of Russia’s parliament, the State Duma, on Friday ratified the agreement on the Eurasian Economic Union signed between Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan in May. Most deputies voted for the treaty, Ria Novosti reports. The treaty envisages creating the largest common market in the ex-Soviet sphere and providing free movement of goods, services, capital and labor between Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan. It is to come into effect on January 1 next year, assuming the treaty is approved by the parliaments of the other two founding nations. Membership is open to other states assessed as sharing the assembly's aims and principles, its founders say. Leonid Slutsky, the chairman of the State Duma's Committee on Commonwealth of Independent States Affairs, Eurasian Integration and Ties with Compatriots, called the ratification of the agreement an“event of historic importance,” Itar-Tass reported. “It is a mighty project from a geopolitical point of view. Several countries of the FSU [Former Soviet Union] and other countries have announced their aspirations to join the Union,” the MP said. The Union will also become “a major obstacle on the road toward creating a unipolar world,” he added. Any country can join the Union provided they share its aims and principles, according to the founders. The agreement to create a Eurasian Economic Union was signed by the presidents of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan on May 29, 2014.
