Belarus concerned over disintegration trends in CIS

        Minsk hosts the CIS Heads of State Council, the Interstate Council of the Eurasian Economic Community and the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council.
At the opening of the first event, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko shared his vision and recent concerns with regard to the Commonwealth:
      (record)
       “Thanks in large part to the CIS the trade and economic relations have received a new impetus. However, there have been problems lately. In addition, the CIS has established a permanent political dialogue, cooperation towards the strengthening of security, and in humanitarian area.
        Selective participation of the CIS states in those areas of cooperation that are of interest to them gives the CIS the flexibility and stresses its uniqueness. However, this selectivity weakens the organization, makes it less effective. The disintegration processes are, unfortunately, gaining ground in the CIS, and this is the reason of concern. Especially in view of the attempts of individual ill-wishers to bury the CIS as a useless rudiment. Belarus is not a supporter of such pessimistic approach. We have always been in favor of the development of cooperation.
       This is why Belarus has again assumed the CIS chairmanship this year. We continued to implement our conceptual approaches to the development of the CIS. We have done everything we could to preserve the potential we have gained for more than 20 years.”