ASTANA, September 28 (RIA Novosti) - Kazakhstan is requesting a transition period for the introduction of new customs tariffs as part of a Customs Union with Russia and Belarus, the country's deputy prime minister said on Monday.

The three ex-Soviet republics agreed in June to form a customs bloc and seek joint accession to the World Trade Organization.

Umirzak Shukeyev said Kazakhstan had asked for a transition period "on 400 positions," including pharmaceuticals, petrochemicals and agricultural produce.

He did not say how long the transition period was expected to last. He added that a unified customs code was almost 100% ready and only needed "linguistic harmonization."

Unified customs tariffs were expected to be adopted in November and to kick in next year.

Russia is the world's only major economy outside the World Trade Organization.