ASTANA , Kazakhstan, May 29 (UPI) -- An economic agreement signed Thursday by the leaders of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan conspicuously left out Ukraine, but formed an economic union long envisioned by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The alliance was meant to be an eastern version of the European Union with Russia at the center of a global economic force. As it currently stands though, the Eurasian Economic Union -- which began in a ceremony Thursday in Astana, Kazakhstan -- has the geography to make it an important trade hub of goods passing between Europe and Asia.