Buteiko says Ukraine sees CIS as mechanism for consultations (08/02/98)

Buteiko says Ukraine sees CIS as mechanism for consultations

Embassy of Ukraine

WASHINGTON - Ukraine's First Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs Anton Buteiko said the CIS should be an active mechanism for negotiation and consultation. He made the statement on July 14, while addressing a news briefing at the Foreign Affairs Ministry in Kyiv.

Ukraine sees the main task of the CIS as creating a free trade zone based on the norms and principles of the World Trade Organization and establishing close bilateral and multilateral trade and economic cooperation among its member-states, Mr. Buteiko said.

He also expressed Ukraine's position on improving CIS structures: the four statutory bodies of the CIS, namely the Council of the Heads of State, the Council of the Heads of Governments, the International Economic Committee and the Executive Secretariat, should be retained, while all other organs should be scrapped. The Executive Secretariat's 1,700-strong staff should either be reduced or taken out of CIS jurisdiction, he added.

Mr. Buteiko stressed that Ukraine would link its cooperation within the CIS to its proclaimed strategic goal of integration into the European Union and trans-Atlantic structures. The CIS should not be a closed forum but should promote negotiations with other European, American and Asian structures, Mr. Buteiko added.

He said this was Ukraine's position at the recent second session of the working group on improving CIS activities and reforming its structures. Ukraine's stance on these issues was supported by the GUAM group of countries (including Georgia, Ukraine, Armenia and Moldova), he noted.

None of the issues raised at the session was finalized, therefore, the next session will be held on July 29-31, Mr. Buteiko said. The participating nations agreed that recommendations on reforming the CIS would be adopted on the basis of consensus.

The vice minister attributed Ukraine's radical position on the CIS to the fact that the body is ineffective. He noted that only 130 out of the 910 documents thus far concluded have been signed by all participating states, and only 30 have thus far been ratified. This, he said, shows low interest in the Commonwealth of Independent States.