Gov't commissioned to prepare agreement on common economic space

Russian President Vladimir Putin has commissioned the government to start working out an agreement on the establishment of a common economic space between Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Ukraine in the near future. Speaking at today's Cabinet meeting in the Kremlin, Putin noted that experts should start preparing the agreement this week. The Russian leader also noted that one of Russian Deputy Prime Ministers should join the commission for tariffs and trade, whose establishment was ruled at a meeting of the Russian, Belarusian, Ukrainian and Kazakh Presidents in Moscow on February 23. The commission will pass coordinated decisions that will correspond to the interests of the four countries and will have an impact on the process of integration. According to Putin, the commission will be independent from the governments of the four countries.