RIA Novosti

2004-07-02 19:27 * RUSSIA * CIS * MEETING *

NO BILATERAL TALKS AT CIS SUMMIT

MOSCOW, July 2 (RIA Novosti) – There will be no bilateral talks in the
framework of an informal Moscow summit of CIS leaders, the Russian Foreign
Ministry said Friday.

On Vladimir Putin’s invitation, the Presidents of Azerbaijan, Armenia,
Uzbekistan, Moldova, Kazakhstan, Ukraine, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Georgia
and Belarus will be in Moscow on July 2-3.

“Moscow will host an informal meeting of the CIS states’ leaders, at which
all the participants will be able in an informal atmosphere to talk about
topics that interest them,” Russian first deputy Foreign Minister Valery
Loshchinin told RIA Novosti.

In his words, at the meeting, the heads of state will discuss the issues of
“building the Commonwealth, realizing these or those CIS decisions.”

The Russian president’s press service told RIA Novosti that the CIS heads of
state will in an informal atmosphere discuss the issues of preparation for
the September summit in Astana, as well as the celebration of the 60th
anniversary of victory in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945.

The deputy minister did not rule out that the meeting might touch upon the
settlement of the Georgo-Ossetian conflict. “This topic may be touched upon
for the peacemaking negotiation process to be continued,” said the Russian
diplomat.

“We proceed from the fact that sudden attacks that are heard from Tbilisi in
regard to the activity of the Mixed Control Commission on settlement of the
Georgo-Ossetian conflict [Russia, Georgia, North and South Ossetias] will
move to the background,” he said.

“The commission is the only negotiation mechanism where we should discuss
the existing problems,” Loshchinin stressed.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress