--- description: The three ex-Soviet countries have signed a historic treaty which will create the Eurasian Economic Bloc title: Russia, Kazakhstan, Belarus sign treaty creating huge economic bloc image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Russia, Kazakhstan, Belarus Sign Treaty Creating Huge Economic Bloc by [Barbara Tasch](/author/barbara-tasch/) ## Barbara Tasch Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close May 29, 2014 11:30 AM CUT by [Barbara Tasch](/author/barbara-tasch/) ## Barbara Tasch Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close May 29, 2014 11:30 AM CUT Russia, Kazakhstan and Belarus signed a [treaty](http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/05/29/us-ukraine-crisis-eurasia-idUSKBN0E90O520140529 "undefined") Thursday forming a massive new trading bloc known as the Eurasian Economic Union, Reuters reports. The treaty will come into effect on January 1, 2015 as long as it’s approved by the countries’ respective parliaments. It will create the largest common market across ex-Soviet states, which its signatories hope will challenge the might of the European Union, the U.S. and China. Russian President Vladimir Putin said shortly before signing the treaty that their meeting was of “epoch-making significance,” but that it was no attempt to recreate the Soviet Union. Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev said the treaty represented “a bridge between the East and the West.” Ukraine refused to join the treaty considering the conflict currently shaking the country and Russia’s recent annexation of Crimea. Armenia and Kyrgyzstan are considering joining the bloc, but other countries have turned down the opportunity to do so. The new treaty unites three countries which have a combined population of 170 million people and a gross domestic product of 2.7 trillion dollars. Two of those countries, Kazakhstan and Russia, are oil producers. The deal will guarantee free transit of goods, services, capital and workers. \[[_Reuters_](http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/05/29/us-ukraine-crisis-eurasia-idUSKBN0E90O520140529 "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/135520/russia-kazakhstan-belarus-treaty/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/135520/russia-kazakhstan-belarus-treaty/"},"headline":"Russia, Kazakhstan, Belarus Sign Treaty Creating Huge Economic Bloc","datePublished":"2014-05-29T11:30:58.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T08:06:16.715Z","description":"Citizens of the three countries will have the right to work freely throughout the member states without any special work permits","url":"https://time.com/135520/russia-kazakhstan-belarus-treaty/","keywords":["russia","Vladimir Putin","Kazakhstan","trade","Belarus"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Barbara Tasch","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/barbara-tasch/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/135520/russia-kazakhstan-belarus-treaty/","name":"Russia, Kazakhstan, Belarus Sign Treaty Creating Huge Economic Bloc"}}]}] ```