Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko stated that it would be beneficial if former members of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) rejoined the organization. He made this remark during his speech at the CIS summit in Moscow.
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Lukashenko stated that all those who did not sever ties with the Commonwealth today demonstrate "decent results" - "They have not lost control of their countries; they remain full-fledged subjects of international relations."
"It would be very good if Georgia returned to our family, if Moldova resumed its full participation, if the Ukrainian authorities came back to their senses, and we participated in the restoration of normal life in Ukraine. I am absolutely sure that this will happen. It's just a matter of time," Lukashenko said.
The CIS is a regional intergovernmental organization formed in 1991 after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Its purpose is to regulate cooperative relations between countries and it has specific powers related to the coordination of trade, finance, law-making, and security. Currently, the Commonwealth includes 9 former Soviet republics: Azerbaijan, Belarus, Turkmenistan, Moldova, Armenia, Russia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan.
Georgia left the group of defense ministers of the CIS on February 3, 2006, as membership in the organization was incompatible with its desire to join NATO. On August 14, 2008, the Parliament of Georgia unanimously voted, with 117 votes, to withdraw from the organization. Georgia officially left the CIS on August 18, 2009.
