Russia considers gradual Customs Union membership

First Russian Vice Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov said on March 18 that the Russian government plans to introduce a mechanism of gradual membership in the Customs Union of the Common Economic Space. The proposal was delivered at a meeting led by Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev to discuss reforms to the Common Economic Space. As his response, Medvedev reiterated the government’s position rejecting any forms of “partial membership,” the Kommersant-Ukrayina newspaper reported. It confirmed that a Ukrainian delegation visited Moscow on March 15 to propose a plan for “associated membership” in the Customs Union, including observer status, with another visit planned for March 29 led by Foreign Affairs Minister Leonid Kozhara.