Putin Vows 'Integration' With Regional Allies As Imperial Dream Falters

Russian President Vladimir Putin has said he plans "further deepening of integration in all areas" with fellow members of the Moscow-led Eurasian Economic Union, an economic

union which forms a single market for 184 million people across five former Soviet states. In a message addressed to fellow EAEU leaders on Monday, Putin touted the bloc as

a pole of the "multipolar world that is being formed," Russia's state-run Tass news agency reported. The EAEU—the members of which are all also part of the Collective

Security Treaty Organization alliance—is a pillar of Moscow's attempt to undermine the post-Soviet U.S.-dominated world order by enhancing and projecting Russian power. The

bloc was formed in 2014 and was perceived as a response to the European Union, though it has largely failed to duplicate the legal and institutional foundations that have made the

EU a global powerhouse. Russia may look to expand cooperation and integration with EAEU states as Western sanctions related to Moscow's invasion on Ukraine curtail its

import and export opportunities in Europe and North America. Putin said in his statement published on Monday that Moscow is starting work on planning documents to guide the

EAEU's direction through to 2030 and 2045. Moscow, he said, will "do everything possible to facilitate further deepening of integration in all areas, including the political,

economic, industrial, financial and technological fields." "The development of technological potential of EAEU member states, the achievement of true independence and

self-reliance in this area are to become one of the main strategic priorities of the joint work," the president said.