Russian Prime Minister
Vladimir Putin and his Kazakh colleague agreed on Friday to launch a
customs union as their Belarussian counterpart failed to show up at a
trilateral summit.
Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan have been
in talks to create a customs union that had been expected to come
into force on July 1.
Talks on the customs union collapsed
last week when the prime ministers said they could not resolve
sticking points like car duties and tariffs and that more
negotiations were needed.
Belarus Prime Minister Sergei
Sidorsky however did not join Putin and Kazakh Prime Minister Karim
Masimov for further talks Friday. Putin said Sidorsky cancelled his
attendance at the last minute.
"We agreed to launch the
customs code of the customs union on a bilateral basis from July 1,"
Putin told reporters after the talks with Masimov in Strelna just
outside Saint Petersburg.
"Today we've signed a relevant
international agreement which allows us to move towards a deeper
integration, on a bilateral basis, if required," Putin said,
referring to Russia's agreements with Kazakhstan.
He added
Belarus was welcome to join the two countries when it was ready.
Putin said during the talks with Masimov earlier in the day
that a disagreement with Belarus over oil export duties held up the
creation of the customs bloc with Belarus.
"Unfortunately,
Belarus did not confirm its intentions to sign joint documents,"
Putin said.
"There still remains one disagreement with
our Belarussian colleagues which is not related to the customs union
-- export duties on oil and oil products."
Belarus,
which earns vital revenue by refining Russian crude oil, which it
then sells abroad, says it sees no reason to pay full export duties
for the oil it receives from Russia since the two nations are moving
towards the single customs bloc.
Putin said he had spoken to
Sidorsky by phone and the prime minister, citing his country's
president Alexander Lukashenko, reaffirmed Belarus's interest in
continuing the talks.
Sidorsky said Belarus would sign the
documents once it sorts out technicalities, Putin said without
elaborating.
In a surprise move, Lukashenko, whose ex-Soviet
nation is heavily dependent on Russian subsidies, said Thursday that
Belarus was ready to give Moscow a controlling stake in the country's
top energy assets -- gas pipeline operator Beltransgaz and the Mozyr
oil refinery -- in return for lower energy prices.
Russian
officials said however that the move did not make much economic sense
and gas company Gazprom said Belarus should pay nearly $200 million
in debt for Russian gas supplies before the two countries could
continue any energy talks.
Relations between Moscow and Minsk
have been under strain in recent years as the two ex-Soviet nations
frequently wrangle over energy prices and trade issues.