MOSCOW, December 23 (Sputnik) — Russian President Vladimir Putin believes there is strength in numbers when it comes to addressing the current economic slowdown in the region.
"I am sure that no matter how our economy or the global economy is doing, a joint effort is always better than dealing with challenges alone," the Russian head of state said at a meeting with Kyrgyz President Almazbek Atambayev on Tuesday.
Putin complimented his Kyrgyz counterpart on the "effective, quick and professional" work toward Kyrgyzstan's accession to the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) earlier on Tuesday.
The EEU guarantees the free flow of goods, services, capital and labour among its member-states. As of Tuesday, it consists of Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Armenia and Kyrgyzstan and is expected to take effect on January 1, 2015.
Russia is currently experiencing an economic downturn and a depreciation of the national currency owing to oil prices hitting five-year lows, and Western sanctions leveled against Moscow in response to its alleged role in the Ukrainian conflict.
