The CIS Executive Committee does not say whether Ukraine will participate in a CIS summit in Minsk next month and who will lead the Ukrainian delegation if it does.
Vasil Puhachow, Belarus' permanent representative to the statutory and other bodies of the Commonwealth of Independent States, told reporters on Tuesday that invitations to participate in the summit had been extended to all CIS members states.
The CIS Council of Foreign Ministers, the CIS Council of Heads of State and the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council at the level of heads of state will hold meetings in Minsk on October 9 and 10, he said.
Belarus is pays “very serious attention” to preparations for all forthcoming events, Mr. Puhachow said. A government conference was held to discuss this matter on Monday with Prime Minister Mikhail Myasnikovich in attendance, he said.
Participants at the CIS Council of Heads of State are expected to discuss 17 draft documents, most importantly, a draft appeal to the international community on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the Soviet Union’s victory over Nazi Germany, Mr. Puhachow said. Also under discussion will be the implementation of the CIS development concept and the role of the CIS Inter-Parliamentary Assembly in the development of regional cooperation, he said.
The issue of CIS chairmanship in 2015 will be discussed separately, Mr. Puhachow said, adding that Kazakhstan was expected to assume it.
October’s CIS summit was expected to take place in Kyiv because Ukraine was to hold the CIS chairmanship throughout 2014, but on March 19, the country announced its decision to step down as the CIS chair.
Yevhen Perebyinis, spokesman for the Ukrainian foreign ministry, said that Ukraine was giving up the CIS chairmanship because some of the CIS member countries supported Russia's annexation of Crimea, thus violating the CIS creation agreement.
On April 4, Belarus assumed the CIS chairmanship until the end of the year. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that Russia hoped that Belarus' CIS chairmanship would be successful.
