Tbilisi Hosts CIS Summit
Meeting of the heads of governments and senior governmental officials from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) will open in Tbilisi on June 3 ? the first-ever CIS summit held in Georgia.
A total of 34 issues are planned to be discussed during the summit, but Georgian Prime Minister Zurab Nogaideli will participate in discussions of only nine issues, including related with cooperation in trade between the CIS countries. Nogaideli said on June 1, that this fact signals ?necessity of reformation of the CIS.?
Although, Tbilisi plays down importance of the CIS and instead focuses on cooperation in frames of GUAM grouping of Georgia, Ukraine, Moldova and Azerbaijan, officials say Georgia?s withdrawal from this organization is not yet on the agenda.
Most of the participants of the summit arrived in Georgia on June 2. Russian 100-member delegation, which is the largest among the participant delegations, which will be led by Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov, is expected to arrive early on June 3.
Belarus Prime Minister Sergey Sidorsky will also arrive early on June 3. Bilateral meeting between Sidorsky and Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili is not expected. Tbilisi has been criticizing recently Belarus authorities for human rights abuse.
President Saakashvili made no secret about Tbilisi?s preferences among the CIS countries and welcomed Ukrainian delegation led by Prime Minister Yulia Timoshenko in the Tbilisi airport ? the only delegation Saakashvili met at the airport.
?I welcome here Ukrainian Prime Minister and an old friend of Georgia. Soon, we expect in Tbilisi my friend, [Ukrainian] President Victor Yushchenko,? Saakashvili told reporters in the airport.
?I can not imagine [the Ukraine?s 2004] Orange Revolution without you [Georgia],? Yulia Timoshenko told reporters upon arrival.
Along with participation in the summit Timoshenko will also hold bilateral talks with her Russian counterpart Mikhail Fradkov in Tbilisi on June 3.
The CIS, which was created shortly after collapse of the Soviet Union in December 1991, mainly served as a regional forum and failed to become a strong vehicle of integration between its 12 members. Georgia was the last to join the organization in 1993.
During a visit to the Armenian capital Yerevan on March 25, Russian President Vladimir Putin described setting up of CIS as ?a civilized divorce? after collapse of the Soviet Union.
He said that the organization should continue its activities, as it represents a ?useful club? for the exchange of information as well as for the determination of opinions on common problems and economic and humanitarian issues.
?Expecting outstanding achievements in the spheres of economy, political and military cooperation from the CIS naturally led to nothing, since there were no prerequisites for that,? Putin said, but added, “where is a better platform for the discussion of these issues than the CIS?”
This post is also available in: ქართული (Georgian)
