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.