Putin says CIS useful, but does not help economic integration

PRIME-TASS, Russia
March 25 2005

YEREVAN, Mar 25 (Prime-Tass) — The Commonwealth of Independent
States (CIS) is useful in solving a great deal of political issues,
but does not help economic integration, Russian President Vladimir
Putin, said Friday.

Putin is currently on an official visit to Armenia.

“European Union countries worked together for unity, whereas the CIS
was created for a civilized divorce,” Putin said.

“The CIS was created to make the break-up of the USSR as civilized as
possible, with minimum losses in terms of the economy and society,”
Putin said. “The CIS has managed to do so,” he added.

The CIS was established in 1991, following the break-up of the USSR,
and included all former USSR republics except for Georgia and the
Baltic states. Georgia joined the CIS in 1993.

“The CIS is an extremely useful club for the mutual exchange of
information and for the settlement of problems,” Putin said.

“We should not lose this instrument, it is very important,” he added.

But Putin said that the CIS has never been tasked with economic
integration. Real integration can be seen in the activities of such
organizations as the Eurasian Economic Community and the Single
Economic Area, he added.

The Eurasian Economic Community is an international organization,
created in 2000, that includes Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia
and Tajikistan, and is aimed at promoting economic cooperation among
these countries.

The Single Economic Area is being created by Belarus, Kazakhstan,
Russia and Ukraine, with the main objective being economic cooperation
and the introduction of a single currency.

Putin said that participation in organizations such as the Eurasian
Economic Community and the Single Economic Area should be voluntary.

“It turns out that many partners are not ready to be involved because
of political or other reasons, while the same reasons may cause others
to be interested,” Putin said. The CIS becomes useful here as any
problems that arise can be discussed, Putin said.

Referring to the uprisings and changes of power in some of CIS states,
such as Ukraine and most recently in Kyrgyzstan, Putin said that “the
CIS should undoubtedly be retained, irrespective of the political
colors of the forces that come to power in any particular country in
the commonwealth.” End
From: Baghdasarian