Vladimir Putin's speech at the meeting:

Good afternoon, esteemed colleagues,

I would like to welcome you to St Petersburg. At our previous meeting in Moscow we agreed to expedite our work and to launch the Customs Union on January 1, 2010.

In the past six months, representatives of our departments and the ministries of Russia, Kazakhstan and Belarus have put a lot of energy into highly successful attempts to draft the Customs Union's legal framework.

We have accomplished practical results, drafting a package of key documents and decisions needed to launch the Customs Union. First, this implies the approval of a common customs tariff and the introduction of a common system of non-tariff regulation starting January 1, 2010 and the granting of authority to the Customs Union Commission.

Moreover, we have signed an agreement on the Customs Union's Customs Code. The agreement must be prepared for ratification as soon as possible.

In the short-term, we must prioritise the creation of a common customs territory by July 1, 2010.

The customs services of our states and all economic departments must assess the various practical issues linked with the operation of the Customs Union. We must complete this large-scale work in a short time.

The main objective is to create common mechanisms that will eliminate internal barriers on our customs territory and which will make it possible to control the Customs Union's external perimeter. We must prevent the creation of grey zones in the customs regulation. At the same time, we must not create additional obstacles for economic distribution.

The results of this important work will influence a smooth transfer to the next integration stage, namely, the creation of a common economic space. An action plan is being drafted under instructions issued by the heads of state.

We must realise specific agreements on the Customs Union. This will allow us to take advantage of incipient prospects for fully merging the economic potential of our three states. However, this will require well-coordinated and genuinely collective efforts in full conformity with the relevant timeframe for accomplishing specific objectives.

I am confident that our current meeting will facilitate the achievement of these goals.

Thank you very much.

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Kazakh President Karim Masimov's speech:

First, I would like to express my heartfelt condolences to the Russian Government and its people over the Perm nightclub blaze and the Nevsky Express crash. I believe both events are our shared tragedy, and the Kazakh Government is willing to provide any assistance if needed.

I expect that the Customs Union will come into effect in a few weeks according to the agreements reached at the EurAsEC Interstate Council prime ministers' meeting on June 9, 2009 and following the document signing on November 27. Our meeting today is significant as we have already shifted from discussing the necessity to launch the Customs Union to its implementation.

I suggest that we proceed to the meeting's agenda.