Russian president urges Ukraine to move closer to CU

Russian President Vladimir Putin Saturday urged Ukraine to take further steps towards closer economic integration with the Russia-led Customs Union (CU). "Today there is a very tense competition in world markets. I'm sure we can be competitive and win in this rather tough competition only through joint efforts," Putin told an international conference on Ukraine's further political path in Kiev. Putin said that despite the global financial slowdown, the trade turnover within the CU rose some 3 percent in the first quarter of the current year, while bilateral trade between Ukraine and Russia was down 17 percent in the same period. Close cooperative ties between Ukraine and Russia can provide the basis for new economic linkage in various areas, and in particular the two states may create a single transport network and unified energy system, Putin said. Ukraine must decide on its own whether it wants to align itself with the CU, Putin said, adding that Russia would respect any Kiev's choice. In May, Ukraine obtained the observer status in the Russia-led block, which also includes two other former Soviet republics, Belarus and Kazakhstan. However, Ukraine, which has announced a strategic course of integration with the European Union, is reluctant to obtain full CU membership. Putin arrived in Kiev on Saturday for a two-day working visit.