No economic slowdown in CIS states despite external circumstances - CIS executive secretary

MINSK. June 10 (Interfax) - Positive economic development trends are continuing among the member states of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), and these countries are not demonstrating any economic slowdown, Chairman of the CIS Executive Committee and CIS Executive Secretary Sergei Lebedev said.

"Despite today's economic difficulties, all countries of the commonwealth are showing positive development dynamics, albeit small - within 4%. Nevertheless, no slowdown is being observed in the development of the economies of the commonwealth countries," the CIS Executive Committee's press service quoted Lebedev as saying at a press conference following a meeting of the CIS Economic Council in the Kazakh capital Nur-Sultan.

Mutual trade growth has considerably accelerated within the CIS, he said.

"It is due to a certain decline in the volume of trade with non-CIS countries. So, I am pleased to note that the states of the commonwealth have promptly reacted to these negative tendencies in foreign trade and have increased the volume of mutual trade within the CIS, thus positively impacting our ability to overcome certain negative tendencies in the economic situation in the CIS countries," he said.