You're reading: Kazakh official: Obstacles to CIS free trade zone agreement will be removed by mid-October

Almaty - All contradictions obstructing a free trade zone agreement between CIS countries should be removed by mid-October, First Deputy Prime Minister of Kazakhstan Umirzak Shukeyev has said.

"There are certain objections on the part of Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan. Today Tajikistan dropped all of its objections. We agreed that we would hold another round of talks before mid-October and we will try to settle all of these differences," he said at the 51st session of the CIS Economic Council in Almaty on Friday.

Shukeyev said that the sides are close to signing the agreement.

"This year we will be marking the 20th anniversary of CIS and it would be good, if we concluded the agreement on the free trade zone by that date," he added.