15 August 2008, 13:32
Parliament of Georgia approves country's exit from CIS
At its session on August 14, the Parliament of Georgia has unanimously adopted the decision on the country's exit from the Commonwealths of Independent States (CIS).
The "Caucasian Knot" has already reported that is was on August 12 at the rally in front of the building of the Parliament of Georgia, where Mikhail Saakashvili proclaimed that Georgia would get out of the CIS, denounce the agreement on the peacekeeping operation in Abkhazia and declare Abkhazia and South Ossetia to be occupied territories. President Saakashvili also called on Ukraine and other CIS member-states to quit the Commonwealth.
The "Civil Georgia" reports that the Parliament of Georgia has denounced three agreements: "Agreement of December 8, 1991, on Foundation of the Commonwealth of Independent States", "Charter Approved by Board of Heads of the CIS Member-Countries on January 22, 1993" and "Agreement of September 24, 1993, on Economic Relations".
Meanwhile, Ukraine can also leave the Commonwealth. According to the RIA "Novosti", a bill on denouncing the CIS Foundation Agreement has been registered in the parliament of this country. The author of the bill is Yuri Kostenko, a deputy from the pro-presidential faction "Our Ukraine - People's Self-Defence" and the leader of the moderately nationalist Ukrainian People's Party. The document arrived to the Rada (Ukrainian Parliament) on August 14.