Your trusted source

It is possible that the Customs Union of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan may need to jointly respond to Western sanctions against Russia, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Tuesday, according to Sputnik.

In an interview with RIA Novosti, Lavrov said that Customs Union rules and regulations allow its members to make a coordinated trade-related response against third countries attempting to put pressure on one of its members.

“At present, there are no such actions on the Customs Union agenda in response to Western restrictive measures against Russia. However, we do not rule out that such need may arise in future,” he said.

The Customs Union between Russia, Kazakhstan and Belarus formally came into existence in 2010. Its ultimate objective is to create a vast Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) stretching from the edge of the European Union to China with a single economic market for over 170 million people.