Vladimir Putin: The public in our countries broadly supports this policy of closer integration, as confirmed by surveys carried out by Eurasian Development Bank

At the summit meeting of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council, which took place in Minsk on Friday, the presidents of Belarus, Kazakhstan, Russia, Armenia and Kyrgyzstan discussed current financial, organisational and technical matters related to the start of the Eurasian Economic Union’s work on 1 January 2015.

“This marks our transition to a new and higher integration stage that will make us more effective in modernising our countries’ economies and making them competitive,” emphasised President of Russia Vladimir Putin in his speech.

The Russian leader noted, in particular, that the public in our countries broadly supports this policy of closer integration. “Public opinion surveys carried out by Eurasian Development Bank show that 79 percent of people in Russia, 68 percent of people in Belarus, and 84 percent of people in Kazakhstan take a positive view of the Customs Union’s work,” stated Vladimir Putin.

“We need to repay this very high level of trust with tangible results and continued improvements in the wellbeing and living standards of our peoples,” emphasised the President of Russia.

Video recording of the speech by the President of Russia: https://news.kremlin.ru/video/2722

Official text of the speech: https://kremlin.ru/news/46767