CIS Executive Committee hopes to continue joint work with Ukraine despite relations with Russia
MINSK. Dec 18 (Interfax) - The chairman of the Executive Committee of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) and the organization's executive secretary, Sergei Lebedev, says he hopes that Ukraine will continue interacting with CIS countries despite the current state of its relations with Russia.
"I would separate Ukraine's relations with Russia - they have their own peculiarities. As for relations with other CIS countries, Ukraine is maintaining them for now," Lebedev told reporters in Minsk on Tuesday.
"The president of Ukraine [Petro Poroshenko] has now issued an instruction to analyze Ukraine's treaties within the CIS, which still play an important role for Ukraine and which, the president of Ukraine believes, are no longer necessary," he said.
"Such work is now underway. But we hope that Ukraine will continue interacting within the Commonwealth, because here it interacts not only with Russia, but also with nine other states. I hope that common sense, sober logic, and pragmatism will prevail," he said.
"Our Ukrainian colleagues' inactivity is continuing," Lebedev said.
"Ukraine has de facto curtailed its participation in the activities of the Commonwealth, which is certainly sad," he said.
"But to all CIS countries' satisfaction, Ukraine has not left the Commonwealth thus far, and we hope that it will not do so," Lebedev said.
Ukraine's law terminating the Treaty on Friendship, Cooperation, and Partnership between Ukraine and Russia on April 1, 2019 entered into force on December 12.
According to the law, the termination relieves Ukraine of any obligation to comply with the treaty and does not affect the rights, obligations, or legal position which arose for Ukraine as the result of the implementation of the treaty prior to its termination, in accordance with Article 70 of the Vienna Convention of the Law of Treaties.