BISHKEK, October 13. /TASS/. Some member countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) ignore the work of the association, but the format remains effective, Russian President Vladimir Putin said.
"Interaction within the CIS is developing against the background of a complicated geopolitical situation. At the same time, the CIS remains a reliable and undoubtedly demanded and effective format of cooperation, within the framework of which the member states build relations exclusively on the principles of partnership, mutual benefit and consideration of each other's interests," Putin said at the CIS Council of Heads of State summit. He emphasized that behind this common diplomatic formulation there are real deeds and real state of relations. At the same time, the Russian leader pointed out that "some countries that are still in the CIS today do not work in this format."
Putin recalled that it all began with Georgia "after the failed attempts of the former president [Mikhail Saakashvili] to solve some domestic problems by force and attacks on South Ossetia.".