Belarusian Politicians Comment on President Saakashvili's Announcement that Georgia Will Quit CIS

Nothing will change if Georgia quits the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), former presidential candidate Alyaksandr Milinkevich told BelaPAN.

He was commenting on Tuesday’s statement by Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili that his country would withdraw from the 12-member post-Soviet bloc.

"The reason things will stay the same is that the CIS is merely a nostalgic organization that was established to make it possible for newly independent countries to have a civilized divorce after the breakup of the USSR," Mr. Milinkevich said. "Even the heads of state acknowledge this. The CIS has long been something like a presidents' club. 'Collapse' is an inappropriate term to use regarding the CIS, as there is actually nothing that could collapse. The presidents will continue having meetings and it isn’t important how those meetings are called."

When reached by BelaPAN for comment, House of Representatives member Anatol Krasutski expressed certainty that Georgia’s move would not hit the bloc hard.

“There will be no breakup of the CIS and any significant changes in its existence. After all, this decision should have been expected, as Georgia had repeatedly declared its intention to quit the CIS,” said Mr. Krasutski, a member of the House’s Committee on International Affairs and Relations within the CIS.

Syarhey Haydukevich, another member of Belarus’ lower parliamentary chamber, echoed Mr. Krasutski's opinion. "Since recently, Saakashvili has used the CIS merely as a forum for bilateral meetings with presidents and solving Georgia's domestic problems," Mr. Haydukevich said. "Georgia hasn't been active in the framework of the Commonwealth. Moreover, we remember that the Georgian parliament has repeatedly raised this issue [withdrawal from the CIS]. That's why Saakashvili's decision was only to be expected after the last developments [conflict over South Ossetia]."

According to Mr. Haydukevich, Georgia's decision will in no way impact the relationship between Belarus and Georgia. "In this situation, Belarus won’t take any steps that might raise any eyebrows," he said. "I believe that we'll accept the decisions that will be made by the European Union and Russia."

Stanislaw Shushkevich, Belarus' formal head of state between 1991 and 1994, suggested in an interview with BelaPAN that Ukraine might decide to follow Georgia's example and quit the CIS. "The current situation in Georgia is comparable to the Soviet Union's intention to occupy Finland or the Czech Republic," Dr. Shushkevich said. "In my opinion, this is banditry, and one should run away from bandits, at least from the legal point of view. Georgia's move to pull out of the CIS was an entirely logical and predictable step. But I wouldn't like other CIS member countries to follow suit."