The presidents of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan signed agreements on Friday aimed at tightening economic integration, a step toward what Moscow hopes will be a Eurasian Union linking former Soviet states. In a Kremlin ceremony, Presidents Dmitri A. Medvedev of Russia, Nursultan Nazarbayev of Kazakhstan, and Aleksandr G. Lukashenko of Belarus signed a Declaration on Eurasian Economic Integration, which Mr. Medvedev called “a new and very powerful step on the path to forming a Eurasian Economic Union.”

Article source: http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=835ff6382aadab1e9c33d14a89602054