VLADIMIR PUTIN
ARCHIVE OF THE OFFICIAL SITE
OF THE 2008-2012 PRIME MINISTER
OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION
VLADIMIR PUTIN
ARCHIVE OF THE OFFICIAL SITE
OF THE 2008-2012 PRIME MINISTER
OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION
VLADIMIR PUTIN
“Russia and Ukraine are already cooperating and interacting productively in the nuclear energy sector. There are many companies in each of our countries that are closely linked to one another. We want to broaden this cooperation: building new units at the Khmelnitsky Nuclear Power Plant and securing Ukrainian partners for work on a large-scale development programme for the Russian nuclear power industry. In addition, we are ready to enter other countries' markets together. Undoubtedly, and I want to point this out, Russia has recently formed a solid set of foreign orders for the construction of energy facilities. Our banks have considerable resources to finance such projects, and we would like Ukrainian companies to participate in their implementation.”
“As for the nuclear power industry, Ukraine is a distinguished country in Europe: it comes second or third in Europe after France and, if I am not mistake, Belgium. Half of the electricity produced in Ukraine is from nuclear power plants. It is important that these plants, these blocks and units be modernised. You could modernise them more effectively, if you cooperate with Russian companies. We are interested in more than just cooperation, we are also willing to take an active part, along with our Ukrainian partners, in the modernisation of Ukraine's generating units and to allow our Ukrainian partners to take advantage of the Russian market. We have plans to double nuclear energy production capacity in Russia in the next 10 to 15 years.”
“We have always had special relations with the Kyrgyz people, and it goes without saying that we now must support our friends in Kyrgyzstan during this difficult time for them. In this context, I'd like to ask you to prepare relevant projects and government resolutions so that we can implement all of your proposals by the end of this week. I'd like you to remain in contact with the interim Kyrgyz government and promptly make decisions with your Kyrgyz colleagues to meet their needs. Let us assume that the situation will return to normal, while bearing in mind that it is very difficult and that, if necessary, we can provide further support.”
“For the first time, we have established an important, supranational body, which has already been granted many of the responsibilities of a country. It is important not to lose this momentum and establish a common customs area by July 1 and a common economic area by January 1, 2012, as we agreed.”
"We had complicated and lengthy but constructive talks with our Belarusian partners about crude oil supplies to the republic. We have reached a mutually acceptable decision. Russian oil will be supplied to Belarus duty-free to fully meet its domestic demand. However, duties will be levied for all additional supplies, processed and exported to third countries."
“The Customs Union is becoming the driver of the Eurasian Economic Community. We expect the rest of our EurAsEC partners to join this policy in the future. The launch of the Customs Union is a major step on the path to a common economic space with unrestricted goods, services, capital and workforce flow. It is a distinctly higher level of integration. A total of 170 million people represent a big consumer market which will open new vistas for businesses and producers from our countries and increase investment attractiveness.”
“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.”
“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.”
“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”.
"On the whole the Belarusian leadership and the President of Belarus are in favour of integration, of closer relations with Russia and we set great store by that. We have recently observed a spectacular manifestation of these sentiments and this policy when Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan signed documents to create a Customs Union. It is an important move towards integration, perhaps one of the most important in the post-Soviet times because it is a truly a path towards real integration."
