3rd LD: Putin eyes EEU-China FTA amid regional consensus on Silk Road cooperation

All members of the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) agree to beef up cooperation with China within a Silk Road cooperation framework proposed by Chinese President Xi Jinping, Russian President Vladimir Putin told Xinhua.

The Silk Road Economic Belt is a "very well-timed and appealing" initiative that has "great potential," Putin commented in an hour-long exclusive interview here with Xinhua President Cai Mingzhao ahead of his Saturday state visit to China.

The proposal is one of the two arms of the Belt and Road Initiative, which also comprises the 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road and aims to pursue common development along the ancient trade routes linking Asia with Europe and Africa.

Echoing Beijing's consistent stance, Putin noted that the purpose of the Belt is to expand cooperation with countries around the world, first and foremost with neighboring countries.

In a recent EEU meeting in Astana, capital of Kazakhstan, all the five members -- Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Russia -- expressed support for carrying out cooperation with China within the Belt framework, Putin recalled.

In the first phase of cooperation, the two sides can set up a free trade area, he proposed, noting that the fundamental path of world economic development and EEU-China cooperation is to promote openness.

Meanwhile, with more and more countries in the region interested in joining the ranks, "we shall try to avoid establishing a closed economic and trade bloc," he added. Endi