The heads of states of Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Belarus will arrive in the resort of Sochi to discuss a common energy market and customs union as part of the Eurasian Economic Community. Ukraine's new prime minister, Viktor Yanukovych, will attend the summit as part of his first foreign trip in this capacity.
"The agenda includes the formation of a customs union within the organization," a Kremlin source said. "Strategy and tactics for the community's progress will be discussed in this context."
Eurasec Secretary General Grigory Rapota said the legal base for the customs union would probably be completed this year.
"However, this does not mean that the exact date for establishing the union had been set," he said.
The Kremlin official said the leaders would discuss formation of the common energy market as part of a Russian initiative to set up international centers offering nuclear fuel services announced by President Vladimir Putin at the Eurasec summit in St. Petersburg in January.
"We need to create a prototype of such global infrastructure that would enable all concerned parties to have equal access to nuclear energy. I would like to emphasize that non-proliferation requirements have to be reliably observed in the process," Putin said.
The president said the UN's nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency, should oversee the centers.
"A system of IAEA-controlled international centers offering nuclear fuel services, including enrichment, without discrimination, should become a key element of the suggested infrastructure," he said then.
The Kremlin source said the leaders would also discuss the preparation of documents establishing the legal basis for Uzbekistan's accession to Eurasec.
The five members of Eurasec, set up in 2000, agreed in January to admit Uzbekistan to the organization, which also includes Moldova, Armenia and Ukraine as observers.
Cooperation within the Collective Security Treaty Organization - Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Tajikistan - is also high on the agenda, he said.
"One of the best illustrations of cooperation is the attendance Robert Kocharyan, the president of Armenia, which is observer in Eurasec and member of the CSTO," he said.
