Kyrgyz envoy: CIS to consider Ukraine’s withdrawal as soon as Kyiv files official application

The participants in a meeting of the heads of government of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) member states in Dushanbe did not discuss Ukraine’s desire to withdraw from the organization, Kyrgyzstan’s envoy to the CIS statutory bodies Kubanychbek Omuraliyev told Interfax.

“Ukraine’s withdrawal from the Commonwealth was not on the agenda of the session of the CIS heads of government in Dushanbe, and this initiative wasn’t discussed. The agenda is drafted one month ahead, and Ukraine has just announced this,” he said.

“In line with the organization’s charter, a country may withdraw from the CIS 12 months after (declaring such desire), and Ukraine has not yet officially filed the relevant bid,” he said.

The CIS heads of government usually address chiefly economic and social matters, and “the agenda of the Dushanbe session included 12 items,” Omuraliyev said.

“While meeting in a narrow format, the heads of the delegation addressed only three items, including relevant issues brought up by each delegation member, the second item is free trade within the CIS and negotiations on the matter, and the third item concerned the next meeting of the CIS heads of government to take place in Astana in November,” he said.

The participants in the session in Dushanbe signed 12 documents, the Kyrgyz government press service told Interfax. These concern the formation and development of the intellectual property market in the CIS countries, cooperation on the innovative energy industry development and development of advanced energy technology, and cooperation in the disposal of wastes of electronic and electric equipment.

They also signed agreements on inter-state standardization, on amending the agreement on cooperation and mutual assistance in customs affairs of April 15, 1994, on the development and financing of inter-state innovation projects, and on innovation cooperation events in the period up to 2020.