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Vladimir Putin Verified the Quick Death of the CIS
// Integration
Yesterday, a Security Council session presided over by Vladimir Putin took place. It was the first session since the appointment of former head of Foreign Affairs Ministry Igor Ivanov as Secretary of the Security Council. The center of attention was Russia’s policy in the CIS. President Putin recognized that the integration of the former USSR has reached the point, where the CIS must be either strengthened or washed out. Judging by the key of speeches during session, the latter is more real, and soon the difference between policies towards the CIS and other foreign countries will be erased altogether.
Analysts have long been saying the CIS is dead. The Baltic States refused to be a part of it from the very beginning and later joined the EU and NATO. Then Turkmenistan practically withdrew from all post-Soviet intergovernmental structures. Periodic frictions between Russia and countries like Georgia, the Ukraine, Uzbekistan on different issues is another sign of the weakening of CIS. Finally, the presence of a NATO military contingent in a number of Central Asian countries and Transcaucasia after the US started the “anti-terrorist operation” in Afghanistan became the final proof of the matter.
It took some time, however, for the Russian leadership to recognize the fact. Putin indirectly recognized it by announcing that Russia’s policy in the CIS “has not always shown itself to be effective, pragmatic or, most importantly, consistent.” Moreover, the president criticized the conviction prevailing in Moscow that Russia had an exclusive a priori right to dictate its conditions to its former sister republics. “For several objective reasons, Russia used to be and still is the engine of the integration process in the CIS. But it would be a mistake to think that Russia alone holds a monopoly on any action in this territory,” Putin mentioned.
Speaking about further plans, the president also mentioned that “we have reached a certain limit in CIS development. In a sense we are now facing an alternative. Either we focus on strengthening the CIS and, on this basis, create a working regional structure that will be influential in the world, or we will end up having this geo-political space “washed out” and, in consequence, experience the final loss of interest in cooperation among the states of the Commonwealth.”
The president also mentioned that a number of more local intergovernmental unions on post-Soviet territory, such as EurAsEC (Eurasian Economic Community) and ODKB (Collective Security Treaty Organization), were more effective in their work than the whole of CIS. He especially emphasized that “real progress happened only where both we and our partners were able to find mutual benefits and interests.”
Finally, announcing that he did not wish his words to be perceived as criticism of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the president criticized it for focusing on formalities and lacking new approaches. “It is not right to work on the residual principle, which is not consistent with government policy,” Putin emphasized.
Sergey Lavrov, Head of RF Foreign Affairs Ministry (who replaced present Security Council Secretary Igor Ivanov on that post in March) giving concrete expression to the president’s words, said that CIS countries were sovereign states “which have a right to choose their partners so our relationship with these states must be based on this fact as well as our national interests.” Moreover, he emphasized that Russia was open to nonconfrontational cooperation and interaction with all CIS countries in all issues.
In analyzing the president’s and minister’s words, the following becomes clear. First, only those governmental institutions whose activity has real purpose prove themselves effective, whether it is the economic EurAsEC or security problems ODKB. Second, renunciation of monopoly and operation by the residual principle in post-Soviet territories as well as recognizing the right of sovereign states to freely choose their partners means that Russia will eliminate the difference in its policy towards the CIS and other foreign countries.
Two directly opposite conclusions can be made on this point. The first is complete renunciation of any claim to leadership and relationships with CIS countries, on the same principles as Russia’s relations with other foreign countries. This is unlikely to happen, though. It is more likely that, by announcing new approaches to cooperation with CIS countries, Moscow is preparing grounds for transition to international accounting standards (for instance the energy resources or the state debt). That means that, in reality, there is no repudiation of claims to leadership, because Russia will dictate its conditions using real economic instruments, rather than ephemeral ideological and historical arguments.
Boris Volkhonsky
All the Article in Russian as of July 20, 2004
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