Interfax's Interview

Russian First Deputy Foreign Minister Andrei granted an interview to Interfax and the Vremya Novostei newspaper ahead the CIS summit.

 Russia is going to switch to the market based trade and economic cooperation with CIS member states and refutes any allegations presenting the policy as politically motivated.
 "With the globalizing economy in the background, we are trying to create an economic system that would secure effective development of every member of the Commonwealth [of Independent States]," Andrei Denisov said.
 "Consistent switch to market based trade and economic relations in the CIS is an important step," the diplomat said.
 This deals with the implementation of basic principles of the present-day international community, he said. "In my opinion, this is a base for a real integration. And our countries have many objective conditions for such an integration," the diplomat said, adding that "It would be surprising if the line is perceived as politically motivated."
 "The paternalistic pattern of relations between former republics of the USSR is the main reason behind the fact; and we are trying to get rid of it," Denisov said.
 The issue of reforming the CIS will become a key topic of the upcoming Minsk CIS summit on November 28, he said.
 "The commonwealth has proved its viability. Now the main thing is to adjust it to new realities, to make it more effective and corresponding with interests of all member states," the deputy foreign minister said.
 "Some countries like to speculate on their participation in the organization," he said, adding that it is illustrative that none of Russia's partners has said that he does not need the CIS.
 "There is only one way to preserve the organization: to make CIS activity correspond with interests of its member states," he said.
 Russia will maintain relations with the CIS member states depending on the attitudes to compatriots there, he said.
 "We assume that the nature of our relations with any country of the Commonwealth [of Independent States] will depend on attitudes to compatriots there," Denisov said.
 "Regretfully, there are some questions," as far as the status of Russian-speaking residents of CIS member states is concerned, he said. "The use of the Russian language has been shrinking all over the territories of the former USSR, except for Belarus, Russian schools are being closed under various pretexts, while the higher education tends to be in national languages," the deputy minister said.
 The same processes have affected Russian-speaking media organizations and the cultural area, he said. "Manifestations of grassroots national with the unspoken consent of local authorities have become frequent," the diplomat said.
 Russia is "aimed at constructive interaction with CIS partners to solve relevant problems as a part of cooperation in the humanitarian area," he said, adding that "The area has been growing into a priority," the diplomat said.
 Denisov also said that Russia does not plan to extend visa regimes with CIS members.
 

More Interfax’s interviews...