Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan to form Eurasian economic bloc in 2015

During talks in Kazakhstan's capital, Astana, Russian President Vladimir Putin said the Eurasian Economic Union takes the countries' co-operation to a "new level" while respecting their sovereignty. According to the deal signed on Thursday, the union will facilitate the free flow of capital and goods within the three countries in the next decade. It also co-ordinates the members' financial systems and regulates industrial and agricultural policies, along with their labour markets and transport systems. And the goal is to set up a European Union-style trading bloc, Xinhuanet said. The signing followed years of tense negotiations. But Putin said he believed in a promising future. "This is not an easy job, rather it is very complicated. Even before, it was hard to reach an agreement on all these issues. There were arguments and, I don't want to call them scandals, but the arguments were very strong and the discussions were very tough. But this development will continue in the future, I'm sure." Putin said. Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev echoed Putin's comments. "Our meeting today has truly historic importance for the future of Kazakhstan, Belarus and Russia. We have completed colossal work to prepare the treaty of the Eurasian Economic Union." He said. Nazarbayev stressed that the union is of an economic nature and that it has not involved a discussion on member states' sovereignty and independent status. The agreement, forging the Eurasian Economic Union, will come into force on January 1st, 2015. Armenia and Kyrgyzstan have both said they are looking forward to joining the union.