The Eurasian Economic Community (EurAsEC) will create a 10-billion-U.S.-dollar fund to deal with the global financial crisis, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said here on Wednesday.

Russia and Kazakhstan will contribute 7.5 billion and 1 billion dollars respectively to the anti-crisis fund, said Lukashenko, who chaired an extended session of the EurAsEC interstate council.

(From L to R) Belarus's President Alexander Lukashenko, Kazakhstan's President Nursultan Nazarbayev, Kyrgyzstan's President Kurmanbek Bakiyev, Russia's President Dmitry Medvedev, Tajikistan's President Imomali Rakhmon, Armenia's President Serzh Sarksyan and EurAsEC Secretary General Tair Mansurov pose for a group photo after an extended session of the Eurasian Economic Community (EurAsEC), at the Kremlin in Moscow Feb. 4, 2009. The EurAsEC will create a 10-billion-U.S.-dollar fund to deal with the global financial crisis, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said here on Wednesday. (Xinhua/Shen Bohan)

The money would be allocated to member states facing grave social and economic problems, he said, adding that relevant agreements will be drawn up within three months.

The fund "will be used only for support, not for commercial needs," Lukashenko said.

The EurAsEC, an economic bloc formed in May 2001, comprises Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan.

(Xinhua News Agency February 5, 2009)