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TBILISI: Tbilisi Hosts CIS Summit

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  • TBILISI: Tbilisi Hosts CIS Summit

    Tbilisi Hosts CIS Summit

    Civil Georgia
    June 2 2005

    Meeting of the heads of governments and senior governmental officials
    from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) will be opened 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 Armenia capital of 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?"
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