MOSCOW, June 12. /ITAR-TASS/. Saying that the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) is not alive is premature, head of the federal authority on cooperation with Russians abroad and with compatriots, Rossotrudnichestvo, Konstantin Kossachev said in an interview with the Russia Today television channel on Thursday.

“The CIS does exist. We would like the CIS to be more seen in results of its activities, though the existing results are sufficient already,” he said.

“I week ago I participated in a Council of CIS head of states in Minsk,” Kossachev continued. “Among other issues, we discussed a project, where the responsibility is with Rossotrudnichestvo - a program of innovative cooperation among the CIS countries.”

“Now we have 11 projects, which implementation will require $190 million, which are made from investments made by the program participants. Those are medicine, space, communications and biotechnologies.”

Those projects “cannot appear without the program, and the program is impossible without the structure like the Commonwealth of Independent States,” he said. “Thus, no doubt, it is too early to say the CIS is not alive.