Lebedev doesn’t exclude South Ossetia and Abkhazia may join CIS

The Executive Secretary of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) told this to journalists in Minsk.

As BelTA reports, Sergei Lebedev noted that the CIS constitutive documents allow new members to join this organization. “All CIS member states must agree on this, if someone votes against, the country cannot join the organization,” he said.

In his view, now it is too early to talk about possible South Ossetia and Abkhazia’s joining the organization, because none of the CIS states, except Russia, has recognized the independence of these countries.

The CIS Executive Secretary reminded that to join the CIS, a country has to carry out the certain mandatory procedures.

South Ossetia and Abkhazia have been recognized only by Russia and Venezuela. The president of Nicaragua introduced that question for discussion, but the parliament rejected the proposal. The rest countries consider Abkhazia and South Ossetia parts of Georgia.

Alyaksandr Lukashenka declared in September last year that Belarus would recognize Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Most independent experts regarded this statement as flirting with the European Union to get loans.