Kyrgyz, Russian Foreign Ministers Discuss Eurasian Integration

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov says he hopes Kyrgyzstan will be able to swiftly integrate into the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU).

Lavrov made his comments after a meeting with Kyrgyz Foreign Minister Erlan Abdyldaev in Moscow on September 4.

Lavrov said Bishkek's joining of the Customs Union -- which officially becomes the EEU on January 1 -- will help Kyrgyzstan to meet major economic goals and "solve many challenges."

The Kyrgyz government says it hopes to officially join the Russia-led Customs Union by the end of 2014.

In May, Kyrgyz President Almazbek Atambaev and the leaders of the Customs Union's member-states -- Vladimir Putin of Russia, Nursultan Nazarbaev of Kazakhstan, and Alyaksandr Lukashenka of Belarus -- signed a "road map" for Kyrgyzstan to join the group.

The issue of whether to join the Customs Union has been fiercely debated in Kyrgyzstan.

Based on reporting by Interfax and ITAR-TASS