The role of Russia in the post-Soviet space remains key, and all “fire hazardous” situations will lead to increased cohesion in this territory, the politicians and experts interviewed by Izvestia believe. On December 18, the CIS leaders held a meeting of the commonwealth, where they discussed conflicts, as well as outside interference in the affairs of the organization’s member countries and cooperation in the fight against the pandemic… During his speech, Vladimir Putin noted the importance of joint work on current threats and expressed Russia’s readiness to cooperate on domestic vaccines. The Federation Council supported this idea and stressed that a large-scale vaccination campaign in the CIS will only strengthen the security of our countries.
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Transcaucasian friction
Vladimir Putin took part in an online meeting of the Council of CIS Heads of State. This time the meeting was chaired by Uzbekistan. In his welcoming speech, the President of the Republic Shavkat Mirziyoyev noted the importance of cooperation between the post-Soviet countries in all key sectors. At the meeting, the leaders paid great attention to discussing the conflicts that erupted in the CIS in the outgoing 2020. The Russian leader also noted this in his speech.
– We were all worried about the armed conflict in the Nagorno-Karabakh region, in which the CIS member states close to all of us are involved – Azerbaijan and Armenia… The clashes that took place, unfortunately, led to numerous human casualties, exacerbated the already difficult situation in the Transcaucasus, and increased the risks of the spread of the terrorist threat, ”said Vladimir Putin.
He also stressed that the signed trilateral statement of Russia, Azerbaijan and Armenia, in general, is being implemented… “The Russian peacekeepers deployed along the line of contact are doing everything to prevent a new aggravation of the situation,” the Russian leader added.
Leader of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, as expected, raised the issue of the conflict in Transcaucasia. The President of the Republic also highly appreciated the contribution of the head of the Russian Federation to the completion of the bloodshed… “The fact that today we have reached a political settlement of the conflict is the huge role of the President of Russia, who was in constant contact. Especially on November 9, he worked very effectively and actively to stop the fire, ”said Ilham Aliyev. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan was unable to take part in the summit due to the death of his father.
The key role of Russia in resolving the conflict in the Caucasus was also recognized by other leaders of the countries in their speeches. Such words are not only pleasant, they correspond to reality, political analyst Denis Denisov told Izvestia.
– In a number of regions, primarily in the post-Soviet space, Russia’s influence on many processes remains key. At the same time, you should not indulge yourself with positive emotions about this kind of situation.… We have seen not a single example where the influence of Western partners turned out to be more significant. Here we must always remember the situations associated with color revolutions in the post-Soviet space, the expert believes.
At the same time, he recalled that Russia’s authority is due to the role that the Russian Federation has traditionally played in the settlement of such crises.
Strengthening cohesion
During his speech, Vladimir Putin said that “another serious challenge that had to be faced this year was the unprecedented attempts to interfere from outside in the internal affairs of some countries of the commonwealth”. Alexander Lukashenko reminded the leaders of the CIS about other “fire hazardous situations” – Belarus, Ukraine, Kyrgyzstan. “It’s a fire, and nothing more,” the Belarusian leader complained.
The State Duma believes that the cooperation that develops against the background of these conflicts will lead to increased cohesion in the post-Soviet space.
– The explosions that are going on the borders of the CIS make us unite even more. These rallies along the lines of the CIS and the CSTO, which many considered formal, are only strengthening their role due to external influence. I am glad that this makes us unite, ”Leonid Kalashnikov, Chairman of the State Duma Committee on CIS Affairs, Eurasian Integration and Relations with Compatriots, told Izvestia…
In addition, the heads of state talked about the successes in combating the pandemic, the measures taken to support citizens, as well as the need for international cooperation, including in the vaccination of the population. The Russian leader emphasized: Moscow has provided and “will continue to provide all-round assistance to counter the coronavirus and overcome its consequences to all partners in the CIS.” The President said that test systems and reagents were transferred to the states of the commonwealth to conduct a total of about 1.3 million studies on COVID-19.
Vladimir Putin expressed his readiness to assist all CIS countries in vaccination of the population using Russian drugs… This topic was raised in his speech by the President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Zhomart Tokayev. He stressed the importance of engaging against COVID-19. “I would like to note the leading role of the Russian Federation in the global response to COVID-19, the first in the world to register a vaccine and start vaccinating the population,” Kassym-Jomart Tokayev emphasized. He, like the acting President of Kyrgyzstan Talant Mamytov, expressed their hope for cooperation with Moscow in this matter. Vaccination in the post-Soviet space will strengthen the security of our countries, believes Vladimir Dzhabarov, first deputy chairman of the Federation Council committee on international affairs.
– I believe the closer we cooperate, the safer it will be in the CIS. You know, a lot of migrants move between countries. If the population of these countries is vaccinated, we can safely allow the movement of people. I hope we will succeed in bringing this idea to the end, ”the politician told Izvestia.
However, not only pandemic and conflicts were the main topics of discussion at the summit. The leader of Moldova, Igor Dodon, reminded the heads of the 75th anniversary of the Great Victory and noted the excellent organization of the parade that took place on Red Square. Next year Belarus will assume the chairmanship.