Bishkek, January 20 (Interfax) - As chair of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) in 2010, Russia plans to ask CIS member countries to formulate a common vision regarding the organization's future development, Russian First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov said during a working visit to Bishkek on Jan. 20.
"Russia, as the CIS chair country, believes that it is necessary to take measures together with all CIS member states, primarily in Central Asia, to determine a format of the CIS’s future development in areas included in our joint agenda, which is based on our common interests," Shuvalov said at a meeting with Kyrgyz Prime Minister Daniyar Usenov.
The high-ranking Russian official, who is visiting Kyrgyzstan as part of his Central Asia tour, said that prior to celebrations to mark the 65th anniversary of the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II in May 2010, Russian officials would visit all CIS member states.
But the Central Asian region was chosen as the first stop, he said.
"We believe that this is absolutely right, given the present-day conditions, because a large amount of interests is concentrated in this region," Shuvalov said.
"In recent years, we [Russia and Central Asian states] have made considerable progress in our bilateral agenda, but our work within the CIS has been controversial," he said.
Kyrgyzstan has been playing a proactive role within the CIS, the Russian official said.
However, some CIS member states, including in Central Asia, "do not have a common approach to the future of the CIS," Shuvalov said.
CIS member states need to "agree upon a format they will recognize as their common choice," he said.
"Kyrgyzstan has always been a reliable and consistent partner for Russia both within Central Asia and as part of regional organizations such as the CIS, the CSTO (Collective Security Treaty Organization), the EurAsEC (Eurasian Economic Community) and the SCO (Shanghai Cooperation Organization)," Kyrgyz Prime Minister Usenov said.
Usenov applauded the level of Kyrgyz-Russian relations, which he described as "special."
"As far as the bilateral format is concerned, Russia remains our strategic partner," he said.
Addressing cooperation within the CIS, the Kyrgyz official said that his country "places high hopes on Russia’s chairmanship of the CIS in 2010," which "will help create effective mechanisms for cooperation within the commonwealth."
"I totally agree with the opinion that the time when the CIS can be regarded as a "mechanism for a civilized divorce" has passed. The time has come for the CIS to become a mechanism for mutually beneficial cooperation," Usenov said.
