Ukraine withdraws from CIS
VoR, May 27 2014
Ukraine is set on leaving the CIS. this came as a statement by Secretary of national security and defense Andrei Parubyi at a briefing in the Verkhovna Rada. Parubyi said:
The NSDC has decided not only to stop the chairmanship in the CIS, but also to begin the process of withdrawing from the CIS.
According to UkrInform, a decision was taken to elaborate a plan of joint exercises of the Ukrainian army and allies, guarantors of Ukraine’s security in the territory of Ukraine. A relevant appeal to the countries-guarantors has already been prepared, added Parubyi. Earlier, Director of the Department of information policy of the Foreign Ministry of Ukraine, Yevgeny Perebyinis said that Ukraine stopped the CIS presidency in 2014. All countries of the CIS favor early stabilization of the situation in Ukraine, for peace and accord in the Ukrainian society, the chairman of the CIS Executive Committee, Sergei Lebedev, told reporters on Monday. Lebedev said:
Today, we discussed with the Belarussian president the developments in Ukraine with anxiety and concern. The situation is difficult. Ukraine is our traditional partner, irrespective of its CIS membership. Millions of ties connect Ukraine and other post-Soviet states, including economic, humanitarian, and family ties. Stability in Ukraine is not only in the interests of the Ukrainian people, but in the interests of all CIS countries.
Ukraine gave up the CIS rotating chairmanship following Crimea’s accession to Russia and voiced plans to withdraw from the Commonwealth. Belarusian Pres Lukashenko believes it is wrong to destroy the CIS. “Let’s be frank, we are going through a difficult time,” Lukashenko said during a meeting with Sergei Lebedev, the head of the CIS Executive Committee, in Minsk on Monday. Lebedev said he is confident that the CIS will resolve the current problems. Lukashenko said:
We will resolve these problems, but we can’t destroy the CIS, even though it is not quite the way we would like it to be. We have made a decision that the CIS has existed and will continue to exist, that we should work, and, if Ukraine cannot chair the CIS this year for some reason, we will assume this responsibility as the country where the CIS is headquartered.
In this regard, Lukashenko asked Lebedev to inform him about the preparations for the meeting of the Council of the Heads of State of the CIS countries in Minsk. Lukashenko said:
I think we will try to meet sometime in October. However, before that, the heads of governments and other agencies should do their work and prepare this Council to make it effective.
Niqnaq 