The signing of the agreement on the creation of a free trade area between the member states of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) represents a new stage and new opportunism for the signatory countries, Prime Minister Vlad Filat said in the meeting of the Council of CIS Heads of Government held in Saint Petersburg, where the document was signed, Info-Prim Neo reports. “This free trade area will enable to create new workplaces and increase the people’s incomes,” said Vlad Filat, quoted by the Government’s press service. The Premier stated that the decision was not an easy one and political will was needed to adopt it. He voiced hope that the existing problems will be discussed and analyzed so as to find solutions to them. After the signing ceremony, Russia’s Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said trade between the CIS states in the first six months of this year totaled US$134 billion, an increase of 48% compared with the corresponding period last year. He stressed the agreement on the creation of the free trade area will stimulate the development of the relations between the CIS countries. The agreement was signed by eight of the 11 CIS member states. Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan are to sign it by the end of this year. The Russian Premier underlined that the agreement does not infringe the principles of the World Trade Organization. The meeting of the Council of CIS Heads of Government took place in Russia’s Saint Petersburg on October 18. The next summit will be held in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan next May.