Vestnik Kavkaza has asked experts of various states on their view of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), a replacement for the Soviet Union, and its role in the last 20 years.
Alexander Iskandaryan, an Armenian political analyst and Director of the Institute for the Caucasus, said that the CIS prevented the undesirable scenario after the fall of the USSR. The CIS was initially resolving property disputes and realizing other authorities. Most states had no proper financial systems, armed forces and Foreign Ministries. The CIS allowed a civilized solution of the problem.
The expert believes that the CIS is a way for cooperation between leaders of post-Soviet states. Their integration processes depend on the needs of elites. States are currently at the stage of forming national identities, forming new states and splitting. Integration is usually an attempt to use preferences in energy resources for own profit. This is not caused by the CIS, it is a matter of how integration is part of these states.
Formation of the Eurasian Union will not affect the CIS’ existence, Iskandaryan says. This integration is an attempt to find an economic format for cooperation with Belarus, Russia and Kazakhstan with plans for Ukrainian involvement. There are doubts about Ukraine’s taking part. There are no talks on political integration at the moment.
The Armenian political analyst believes in the future of the CIS and says that the organization will exist for a long time, remaining an important platform for dialogue between elites of the post-Soviet space. Meetings between elites would not harm anyone. Cancelling the ICS needs Russia’s will. Russia is the central states in the CIS. But it would have no reasons to stop the cooperation.
