Deputy PM Overchuk does not view EAEU as Russia's attempt to rebuild USSR

NUR-SULTAN. June 9 (Interfax) - Russia "is not pushing anything on anyone" in the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), and every decision is based on consensus and taking into account the interests of all members, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexei Overchuk said.

"No matter what they say, the EAEU is not Russia's attempt to re-Sovietize the region and to rebuild the former Soviet Union," Overchuk said at the conference titled 'Kazakhstan and Russia. Topical Areas of EAEU Cooperation' on Thursday.

Overchuk said that he often saw at meetings with foreign colleagues that they "do not believe that decisions are made by consensus at every level in the EAEU and the voice of the smallest country is equal to the voice of the largest one."

"No decisions will ever be made [in the EAEU] if at least one country believes that its interests are disregarded, ignored. No such thing is possible," Overchuk said.

He said earlier on Thursday that countries outside the former Soviet Union might eventually join the Eurasian Economic Union. "The EAEU should be viewed as an integration union whose primary objective is to develop harmonious economic relations in Eurasia with due respect for the independence of its members. This means one should not be surprised if countries that have never been part of the former Soviet Union join the EAEU at some point," Overchuk said

Currently, the EAEU has five member states, namely, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Russia.