Russian, Belarusian, Kazakh presidents to meet in Moscow

Presidents from Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan will meet in Moscow on Nov. 18 on the creation of a Common Belarusc Space between the three nations, the Kremlin press service said in a statement on Friday. According to the service, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko and Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev will hold talks on issues related to the Common Economic Space pending entry into force next year. The leaders will also discuss future working plans for the next phase of the integration in the Eurasian region -- to create a Eurasian Economic Union, which was first initiated by Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin in October and includes former Soviet states. Meanwhile, the leaders will exchange views on issues related to the Customs Union between Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan and the relevant cooperation among the three countries. "Cooperation within the Customs Union has already brought concrete results ... Mutual turnover within the Customs Union has grown by nearly 40 percent in the first half of 2011," the Kremlin said. The tripartite Customs Union became fully operational on July 1, 2010. Its member states Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan have agreed to officially launch the Common Economic Space on Jan. 1, 2012.