Russian President Dmitry Medvedev called on Saturday a Customs Union with Belarus and Kazakhstan an “absolute priority” for Russia and urged the government to pay special attention to the issue.
“The Customs Union is an absolute priority…we must not create additional procedures that will make harder the arrival of people, goods and money to our country,” Medvedev said during a visit to Russia’s Far East Amur Region.
Addressing concerns voiced by business owners that their operations could be “paralyzed” by the introduction of the Customs Union, he said that “we need to do everything so that our businesses can work in normal conditions.”
The Customs Union between Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan formally came into existence on January 1, but is unable to start working fully until disputes are resolved and a customs code comes into effect.
Russia and Kazakhstan have already ratified the document.
Medvedev also said he would attend a meeting of the Eurasian Economic Community (EurAsEC) Intergovernmental Council on July 5 in the Kazakh capital, Astana, where a range of issues surrounding the prospects for EurAsEC and the Customs Union will be discussed.
EurAsEC comprises Kazakhstan, Russia, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. Its intergovernmental council doubles as the top body of the Customs Union.
BLAGOVESHCHENSK, July 3 (RIA Novosti)
