25-year-old CIS: unresolved conflicts and lost faith - COMMENT

Baku. 19 September. REPORT.AZ/ The 25th Summit of the CIS Heads of States Council was held in Kyrgyz capital Bishkek. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has also attended the summit.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev, Tajikistan President Emomali Rahmon, Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko, Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan also took part in the anniversary event. As well, Uzbekistan was represented by FM Abdulaziz Kamilov, Moldova by PM

 Paul Philippe, Ukraine by its Ambassador to the Republic of Kyrgyzstan Nikolay Doroshenko and Turkmenistan by Deputy Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers.

In the meeting, the heads of states issued a number of statements, adopted documents. Also, Ganja was declared the cultural capital of the CIS. According to the decision made at the meeting, the next meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers will be held in Uzbekistan in April 2017. Russia will chair the CIS in 2017 due to Moldova's refusal.

25-year-old CIS is an interstate commonwealth, which unites majority of the former USSR countries. Headquarters of the organization, established on December 8, 1991, is located in Minsk, capital of Belarus.

The union has been established by Russia, Ukraine and Belarus. By the way, also firstly, this trio has formed the USSR. Mentioned states realized necessity of collapse of the Soviet Union (USSR virtually collapsed after resignation of Gorbachev on December 25, 1991) and created this organization to expand political, economic and cultural relations among the countries. As well as the CIS was intended for 'cultural collapse' of the USSR and distribution of its property among the former Soviet Union countries.

Later, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan have also joined the CIS. The Azerbaijani Parliament ratified the decision in September 1993 and the country became a full member of the CIS.

Becoming a member to the CIS in October 1993, Georgia has left the union after Russia's intervention in Abkhazia and South Ossetia in August 2008.

Turkmenistan has been acting as an observer at the CIS since 2005.

However, Ukraine announced its withdrawal from the union after Russia's annexation of the Crimea in March 2014, the country hasn't addressed a formal request in this regard so far. 

The spheres of joint activity of the CIS member states which is realized on an equal basis through common coordinating institutions in accordance with the obligations undertaken by the member states under the framework of the Commonwealth shall include:

- ensuring human rights and fundamental liberties; coordination of foreign policy activity;

- cooperation in the formation and development of a common economic space, common European and Eurasian markets, and customs policy;cooperation in the development of transport and communications systems;

- protection of health and the environment;questions of social and migration policy;

- combating organized crime;cooperation in the sphere of defense policy and the protection of external borders.

(CIS) Council of Defense Ministers was founded on February 14, 1992. Armenia, Kazakhstan, Russia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and the Kyrgyz Republic since 1993, 

are members of the Council. In 1994, a new document was adopted in Council of Defense Ministers and Azerbaijan, Belarus and Georgia joined the organization.

In 2000, Georgia suspended from council. At present, Georgia, Moldova, Turkmenistan and Ukraine are not members of the Council.

The active members of the CIS are Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Armenia and Tajikistan.

Cooperation of Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan within the community is limited. Moldova and Ukraine after signing an agreement on association with the EU further restricted their activities in organization.

What has CIS achieved in the past 25 years?

Georgia has left the council, Ukraine announced its withdrawal from membership. Turkmenistan is not hurrying to get full membership.

The problem of territorial integrity of Azerbaijan and Moldova have not been resolved yet.

Georgia faced with the threat of losing its territory. The territory of Ukraine annexed after leaving the Commonwealth.

CIS is the meeting square for officials of former union republics and space for discussing problems.

Union for number of indicators similar to UN. Because this international organization is also weak to ensure the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan and Moldova. This gradually reduces trust in organization which is not so big.

The key of the UN in 5 countries, but the CIS in hand of one. If it does not want, the Commonwealth will not exist at all.