MOSCOW, April 4 (RIA Novosti) - President Vladimir Putin said Tuesday that the first set of 38 documents on creating a common economic space for countries of the former Soviet Union would be signed in the near future.
"As far as I know, our Ukrainian friends will also be present [at the signing] and are ready to sign some documents, but not all," he said.
Agreement in principle on creating the Common Economic Space (CES) was announced by Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, and Kazakhstan, the largest nations in the Commonwealth of Independent States, at a meeting near Moscow on February 23, 2003.
The CES is designed to ensure the free movement of goods, services, capital, and people and achieve the ultimate goal of abolishing tariffs and harmonizing markets in the key areas such as transportation and energy. The organization would be open for other countries to join and could eventually lead to a single currency.
Following Viktor Yushchenko's presidential victory, Ukraine, a major player, seemed to be more interested in EU membership, which could deal a heavy blow to the project, but with the recent victory of the Yanukovych-led pro-Russian Party of Regions in parliamentary elections, the issue could again be high on Ukraine's political agenda.
