Expert: CIS meet important as it is held ahead of Vilnius EaP summit
EaP member states may make use of it to lay down demands for Russia, reckons political commentator Yury Shautsou.
The CIS summit opened in Minsk on October 25. Almost all the heads of CIS member states except for the President of Kyrgyzstan arrived in Belarus. The summit is important both from the symbolic and practical points of view, political scientist Yury Shautsou reckons. EaP member states may lay down their demands for Russia a month before the Eastern Partnership summit in Vilnius as Russia is not interested in their participation in the European Union’s programme.
“The summit precedes the EaP summit in Vilnius. We know what is going to be discussed there. Naturally, a lot of issues in the relations of Eastern European countries will be discussed in Minsk one of these days,” Shautsou said.
The meeting of CIS Presidents will be the culmination of the CIS summit in Minsk. It will be an open meeting in the Independence Palace built especially for the summit.
Photo: Russian President’s website.
