MOSCOW, May 26. /TASS/. The Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) cannot ignore the position of Armenia, which has announced plans to integrate into the European Union, CIS Secretary General Sergey Lebedev said at a roundtable titled "35 Years of CIS: Achievements, Goals, Prospects."

He noted that Ukraine remained a CIS member. Lebedev also said that the procedure for Moldova’s withdrawal from the Commonwealth had been launched.

TASS has compiled the key statements made by the CIS chief.

Ukraine retains CIS membership

Kiev remains a Commonwealth member: "Ukraine is still part of the CIS."

Ukraine "did not apply" to leave the CIS.

Procedure for Moldova’s withdrawal from CIS

The CIS Executive Committee has received official word from Chisinau that it is withdrawing from the key agreements of the Commonwealth: "Moldova sent us a notification. We have launched the procedure. It will take a whole year."

However, Chisinau stated "that it wishes to remain part of the CIS’ economic cooperation."

Reaction to Armenia’s actions

The CIS has no choice but to take note of "the European Union’s summit on Ukraine that took place in Armenia recently, as well as of the position of the country’s leadership on accession to the EU." "Still, Armenia remains a member of the CIS, the Collective Security Treaty Organization, and the Eurasian Economic Union, and enjoys the benefits of its membership."

Attempts at external pressure

The CIS is facing attempts by external players to tear it apart, particularly through color revolutions: "The CIS has fully experienced the impact of global challenges and issues. In particular, negative global economic trends and attempts by external players to turn the Commonwealth space into a competitive field in order to eventually tear it apart, including by staging so-called color revolutions, have certainly affected our cooperation. Examples of this include Georgia's pullout from the CIS, Moldova’s notification of its withdrawal from CIS founding documents, and the position taken by Ukraine."

It is an absolute necessity to preserve the geopolitical utility of the CIS, along with historical, economic and cultural ties: "We have every reason to be confident that this goal will be achieved."

Russia’s role in CIS

Russia’s role as a "center of gravity" and a guarantor of development in terms of intergovernmental cooperation within the CIS continues to increase: "It is impossible to imagine the Commonwealth's future without Russia. Today, Russia’s importance as a center of gravity and a guarantor of the future development of intergovernmental cooperation within the CIS is growing even more."

"The developments of the past several years have made it clear that the CIS region is also vital for Russia."

CIS’ importance

The 35-year history of the CIS "gives every reason to believe that the organization is relevant and capable of combining common interests and the national priorities of its member states."

Today, the CIS is a deeply integrated and mutually beneficial economic and political organization, which ensures the effective development of each of its members.