This was stated by the Secretary General of the Commonwealth, Sergey Lebedev. “The Republic of Moldova and Ukraine, indeed, at the moment have minimized their participation in the activities of the Commonwealth bodies. However, there have been no appeals on their part to withdraw from the CIS. Thus, legally, and in fact, they remain within the Organization,” the press release of the CIS Executive Committee quotes Lebedev as saying.
As the head of the organization’s executive committee noted, the CIS is not only a system of working structures, but also a set of legal institutions – interstate treaties and agreements, and there are over 550 of them, providing for mutual rights and obligations of their participants.
“Without withdrawing from most of such documents, the Moldovan and Ukrainian sides recognize their obligations under them. Moreover, the Commonwealth’s international legal framework continues to play an important role in Moldova’s and Ukraine’s relations with most CIS member states, especially in the Central Asian and South Caucasus regions,” Sergey Lebedev added.
“The Commonwealth of Independent States, as before, remains open for full participation of Ukraine and Moldova in joint work,” the CIS Secretary General emphasized.
