Putin proposes 'Eurasian Union'

Russian prime minister Vladimir Putin has proposed forming a "Eurasian Union" of former Soviet nations, saying the bloc could become a major global player competing for influence with the US, the European Union and Asia.

Mr Putin, who has lamented the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union as the "greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the 20th century", denied that his proposal represents an attempt to rebuild the Soviet empire.