The customs union between Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan, which came into force last year, stipulates that customs duties between the three former Soviet republics will be abolished in July and that a common customs tariff will be levied on goods imported from outside the zone.
Following intense wooing by the Russian government for Ukraine to join the union, including promising to reduce the country’s gas bill by $8 billion a year if it signed up, Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych said last week: “Our future relations with the customs union will be based on a possible agreement on three plus one co-operation.”
The announcement by Mr Yanukovych is his latest move to place Ukraine back in the Russian orbit following attempts by his predecessor, Viktor Yushchenko, to point the country towards the West. Last year, Mr Yanukovych renewed the lease of the Russian Black Sea fleet which is based in the Crimea, a Ukrainian peninsula, and moved to restore production ties between Kiev and Moscow on aircraft and shipbuilding.
The Kremlin’s delight at how the customs union is taking shape increased this week when the Central Asian state of Kyrgyzstan confirmed that it, too, will be joining the organisation. Some analysts believe the customs union may one day lead to the creation of a new union between Russia and some of the other countries which made up the old Soviet Union.
