ASTANA, Kazakhstan — The presidents of Russia, Kazakhstan and Belarus formally signed an agreement Thursday to create a limited economic union — an alliance hobbled by the absence of Ukraine but one long pursued by President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia to confirm his country as a global economic force.
Russia's War Against Ukraine
New York Times: Putin signs economic alliance with Kazakhstan and Belarus
Russian President Vladimir Putin shakes hands with his Kazakh counterpart Nursultan Nazarbayev and Belarussian counterpart Alexander Lukashenko during a regular meeting of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council in Astana on May 29, 2014. Russian President Vladimir Putin on May 29 signed a deal creating an economic union with Belarus and Kazakhstan, with Ukraine conspicuously absent after it turned its back on Moscow. AFP PHOTO / RIA NOVOSTI - POOL / MICHAEL KLIMENTYEV
