Russia, Kazakhstan and Belarus at heart of post-Soviet trading bloc that aspires to commerce but not communityUntil the last moment Alexander Lukashenko, the president of Belarus, held out for 7 October, to coincide with Vladimir Putins birthday. But in the end the parliament in Minsk ratified the treaty on Eurasian Economic Union on 9 October, the day before its first three members Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan were due to meet.It would be simplistic to reduce the nascent EEU to a toy in the hands of the Russian president. When it comes into force, on 1 January 2015, it …read more
Source: The Guardian
