Alliance of ex-Soviet republics plans to remove trade barriers by 2012
By MISHA DZHINDZHIKHASHVILI

The Associated Press
06/03/05 09:22 EDT

TBILISI, Georgia (AP) – A loose alliance of former Soviet republics
on Friday endorsed a plan envisaging the creation of a free trade
zone by 2012 – an ambitious goal it has long struggled to achieve.

The Commonwealth of Independent States, or CIS, was created in the
1991 collapse of the Soviet Union to help foster closer ties between
the newly independent countries. But most of its initiatives have
foundered because of member states’ suspicions of Russia’s domination
and stark differences in their economic development. The CIS has long
been criticized for being little more than a talking shop.

Prime ministers of 12 CIS member states, who met Friday in the Georgian
capital, Tbilisi, discussed a protocol envisaging the gradual lifting
of restrictions in mutual trade and calling for their complete removal
by 2012. Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko called for their
faster removal and refused to sign the protocol, that was endorsed
by her counterparts.

During the meeting, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan and Moldova echoed Ukraine’s
call for a faster creation of a free trade zone. “All CIS member
states are interested in a quick removal of barriers to mutual trade,”
said Georgian Prime Minister Zurab Nogaideli.

Nogaideli on Friday criticized the grouping for having failed to live
up to its promise. “No visa-free regime has been observed in the CIS,
although that is the main principle of the Commonwealth,” he said.

He also said that the group had failed to ensure its members’
territorial integrity. “For Georgia, the most important interest
is conflict settlement and restoration of the country’s territorial
integrity,” Nogaideli said.

The government of President Mikhail Saakashvili is trying to bring
two breakaway regions, Abkhazia and South Ossetia, back into the
fold after more than a decade of their self-declared independence.
Georgian authorities have accused Russian peacekeepers in Abkhazia,
acting under the aegis of the CIS, of favoring the separatists.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress