Vladimir Putin: Esteemed colleagues, ladies and gentlemen,

We have had two essential meetings today-one with the Eurasec Interstate Council and the other with the Supreme Body of the Customs Union.

I want to say at the start that these serious talks have achieved major results.

Let us summarise the Eurasec decisions first. We have approved a team effort to overcome the consequences of the global financial crisis, and the Eurasec Prime Ministers, along with Armenian participation, have signed a treaty to establish an Anti-Crisis Fund.

It will be functioning even within this year to provide sovereign loans and stabilisation loans to member countries, and to finance interstate investment projects.

Russia accounts for the greater part of its registered capital-$7.5 billion out of total $10 billion. That is why Mr Alexei Kudrin, the Russian Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister, has been appointed Fund Council Chairman.

We realise that the crisis gives us no excuse to bury long-term projects, especially those in innovation and in the economic modernisation of Eurasec countries.

The Eurasec High Technology Centre will open within the year to promote science-driven industrial development in our countries.

Last but not least, the Eurasec will have its 10^th anniversary next year, as you all know. The jubilee will dominate all common plans in the Community. A relevant plan has been approved already. We have agreed to have our next meeting within that format in St Petersburg, Russia, in December 2009.

The meeting of the Supreme Body of the Customs Union of Belarus, Kazakhstan and Russia was very constructive and businesslike, and has borne tangible fruit.

At my colleagues' request, I would like now to announce the statement of the Prime Ministers of the Republic of Belarus, the Republic of Kazakhstan and the Russian Federation:

"In pursuance of the decision of the Heads of State on the priority establishment of the Customs Union, in confirmation of the resolution to join the World Trade Organisation, aware that the last years have made the process of joining the WTO piecemeal a deterrent to the integration processes, and stressing the high economic potential of our countries and the benefits of their far-reaching integration, the Heads of Government of our countries determine:

1. To approve the draft unified customs tariff and offer it for approval to the Eurasec Interstate Council at the level of the Heads of State, having in view the coming thereof into effect on January 1, 2010.

2. To approve the proposal on the formative stages and schedule of the united customs territory, proceeding from January 1, 2010, as the beginning of Customs Union activities and July 1, 2011, as the deadline for the finish of all relevant procedures.

3. To notify the World Trade Organisation regarding the intention to open negotiations on the Customs Union of the Republic of Belarus, the Republic of Kazakhstan and the Russian Federation joining the WTO as a united customs territory."

Logically, the decision on the formation of the unified customs tariff of the Customs Union and on the Customs Union joining the World Trade Organisation contains the following clause: "The Governments of the Parties notify the World Trade Organisation of the termination of negotiations on the Republic of Belarus, the Republic of Kazakhstan and the Russian Federation joining the WTO."

In other words, we confirm that our countries' WTO membership remains our shared priority-no longer the individual membership of each country but of a customs union and a united customs territory.

I also want to say on behalf of the Russian Government that we will step up our efforts to develop our special relationship with the European Union in response to our European colleagues' proposal to form a free trade zone. We will certainly do that within the limits of agreements made in connection with the establishment of the Customs Union, which is our top priority.

Thank you.

Sergei Sidorsky: Colleagues, Belarus chaired today's meeting of the Eurasec Interstate Council. Opening the meeting, I stated that the main objective of Belarus' presidency is finding a unified approach towards the establishment of a common Customs Union.

We have been working for a few years on the issue that was discussed today. We have assigned a number of concrete tasks to our experts. However, for different reasons the parties could not reach an agreement. Today our three states decided to sign an agreement providing for Belarus, Russia and Kazakhstan to become a single unit within a common customs space and to jointly apply for WTO membership.

We confirm that WTO membership is a priority for our governments. It should be noted that representatives of each of the three countries will act on behalf of the negotiating parties, having the same status and the same influence during voting, pursuant to coordinated policy.

Today's agreement on a unified customs tariff is a big step forward. The agreement contains tens of thousands of positions; our experts reported today that they have almost completed the coordination of a unified customs tariff.

There are a few disagreements, but they did not stop us from arriving at this crucial decision today. All in all, we approved of the work that had been carried out, and agreed that, following the parties' will, we will create a common customs territory starting January 1, 2010.

We committed ourselves to synchronising efforts with regard to the development of our national economies. By January 1, 2010 we will have created a single customs territory, and by July 1, 2011 we will have settled all the remaining issues to be addressed on the trilateral level. Our Kazakh partners suggested making an extra effort to synchronise work with us by January 1, 2011. As a matter of fact, today we made all the necessary decisions to execute the directives of the Council of Heads of State.

Prime Minister Putin reported that we also made several concrete decisions. The Belarusian party initiated the adoption of a biotechnology development programme. We have always believed that our Eurasec activity must be filled with practical research and technology programmes making it possible to launch new companies, and to introduce scientific and technical innovation in today's economy and in the future post-crisis economy, which is very important for the further development of our states' individual economies.

Thank you.

Karim Masimov: In 1994, the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev delivered a lecture at Moscow State University and suggested creating a Eurasian union. This was just after the Soviet Union's demise, and this idea seemed strange at that time.

Today we adopted a decision to create a common customs space. A new customs territory with a population of almost 180 million people emerged today. We coordinated a unified customs tariff today; we almost fully coordinated our positions. Starting January 1, 2010 goods will be transported from the Belarusian-Polish border to the Kazakh-Chinese border without constraint. There should be no obstacles to the transportation of goods.

We committed ourselves to a considerably tough plan, which suggests that no later than July 1, 2011, - and if we work consistently, it may happen faster, - there will be no customs posts on, say, the Kazakh-Russian border.

This is very important for the development of bilateral relations. Likewise, it is very important for the people who live on either side of the border. I would like to say that this is a significant decision. I would like to thank Mr Putin. Without today's decision - and in many respects you assumed great personal responsibility today - it would be very difficult for us to move further.

I believe this is a fundamental decision. The main thing is that we do not abandon market principles. We will stick to our commitment to join the WTO, but we will act as a single customs territory. We will set up a group of national negotiators who will act jointly, negotiating on behalf of our parties.

Vladimir Putin: Thank you.