Russia signs free-trade deal with former Soviet states

[pampango]

Source: BBC

Russia has signed a free-trade deal with seven other former Soviet republics that will scrap export and import tariffs on a number of goods.

The agreement was announced following talks in St Petersburg. The other signature countries are Ukraine, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Armenia, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova and Tajikistan.

Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan may join by the end of the year.

The free trade agreement now needs to be ratified by the parliaments of the eight countries who have so far signed up, before becoming effective in 2012.

Read more: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-15363770

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Of those countries Ukraine, Armenia, Kyrgyzstan and Moldova are the only ones in the WTO. The rest are not although Russia is on the verge of entering.

Other than Russia and Ukraine their economies are not very big.