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Russia and most of its CIS partners have signed an agreement committing to creating a free trade zone during Tuesday’s meeting of the Commonwealth in St. Petersburg.
Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Armenia, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, and Tajikistan signed for membership which is designed to reduce all trade fees on a number of goods between the countries and some expect the rules to come into force next year. Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan were the only members of the 11-strong union to stay out of the new trade zone, but still have the opportunity to join it before the year's end, if they decide to do so.
The agreement, which has been crafted over the last 10 years, will be another step for successful integration of neighboring states according to Russian Prime Minister, Vladimir Putin, who added it was essential to boost trade volumes
“The document which marks out essential conditions and rules for free trade has been a long time awaited and neatly prepared. It has been discussed and examined, at some point corrected with the heads of Commonwealth countries and finally agreed and approved.” Putin added that new conditions are attractive for all parties.
Wednesday October 19, 2011/ RT.
http://rt.com/
