Putin hosts meeting of Moscow-dominated economic alliance

MOSCOW – Russian President Vladimir Putin has chaired a meeting of the economic alliance that includes his country and several ex-Soviet nations, and which has invited Moldova as an observer.

During Monday’s meeting in Sochi, Putin hailed the Eurasian Economic Union as a dynamic group and pointed at its economic achievements.

The Eurasian Economic Union includes Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Armenia and Kyrgyzstan. It is intended to encourage free trade, co-ordinate the members’ financial systems and regulate their industrial and agricultural policies.

The meeting participants agreed to offer Moldova observer status in the union.

The meeting also provided a platform for the first encounter between Putin and new Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian. He won the job after spearheading a wave of protests that forced out the long-serving leader of the Caucasus nation.