Menu
Latest
Menu
Latest
Commentary

Ukraine called for a meeting of the CIS Foreign Ministers in Kiev on 7 March but the Russians said they were too busy to attend.

6 March 2014

Russia is too busy to attend a meeting of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) Foreign Ministers in Ukraine, and proposes to wait until 4 April when a regular meeting is scheduled.

The Russian News Agency RIA Novosti reported that the Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Vasily Nebenzia confirmed that Ukraine had called for a meeting of the CIS Foreign Ministers Council in Kiev on 7 March but said that the Russian Minister and other Ministers were too busy to attend.

Commonspace.eu political editor said in a comment that given that the situation in Ukraine at the moment is the biggest crisis in the post Soviet space since the collapse of the USSR and the creation of the CIS, the inability of the CIS Foreign Ministers to even meet to discuss the issue lays bare the fact that this organisation is completely dysfunctional and exists only as a fig leaf. The organisation has already shown in the past that it is ineffective, not least during the crisis in Georgia in 2008. But its inability to even convene a meeting that is being called by the country holding the current chairmanship - Ukraine - probably heralds the death toll of the organisation. Whilst no one had any illusions that the CIS could be the organisation that could broker a solution to the current crisis in Ukraine, it was well placed to offer a forum that was comfortable for Russia where a dialogue with the Ukrainian government could take place. Russia's failure to respond to this opportunity add to the already huge question marks about its intentions.

source: commonspace.eu.

photo: The building of the Foreign Ministry of the Russian Federation in Moscow.

Related articles

Editor's choice
News
Borrell tells the European Parliament that the situation in Afghanistan was critical, but the EU will remain engaged
Trending

Borrell tells the European Parliament that the situation in Afghanistan was critical, but the EU will remain engaged

9 June 2021
Borrell underlined that the European Union will make every effort to support the peace process and to remain a committed partner to the Afghan people. "Of course, we will have to take into account the evolving situation, but disengagement is not an option.  We are clear on that: there is no alternative to a negotiated political settlement, through inclusive peace talks.
Editor's choice
News
Dozens participate in new Armenia-Azerbaijan dialogue process as societies prepare for the signing of historic peace agreement
Trending

Dozens participate in new Armenia-Azerbaijan dialogue process as societies prepare for the signing of historic peace agreement

6 July 2025
The governments of Armenia and Azerbaijan have recently agreed the text of a historic peace agreement that ends years of animosity and warfare. The agreement is expected to be signed soon. LINKS Europe, which has a long history of engagement with the process of peace in the region, recently launched a new Armenia-Azerbaijan dialogue format in the framework of the European Union's EU4Peace initiative. In the last two weeks dozens of Armenians and Azerbaijanis, including academics, students, civil society activists, journalists and other professionals, many of them young, were involved. The work is organised in five thematic groups focusing on peace and security, connectivity, environment, governance and gender and equality and in phase 2 of the project, which has just ended, around fifty participants took part in in-person and online meetings, and more than twenty others were involved indirectly. The Chairpersons of the five thematic groups met in Vilnius, 3-6 July to launch the third phase of the program. The five thematic groups are now working on separate reports, which are expected to be finished in November and presented to the two governments and other stakeholders. The reports will outline a vision, up to 2040.

Popular

Editor's choice
News
Dozens participate in new Armenia-Azerbaijan dialogue process as societies prepare for the signing of historic peace agreement
Trending

Dozens participate in new Armenia-Azerbaijan dialogue process as societies prepare for the signing of historic peace agreement

6 July 2025
The governments of Armenia and Azerbaijan have recently agreed the text of a historic peace agreement that ends years of animosity and warfare. The agreement is expected to be signed soon. LINKS Europe, which has a long history of engagement with the process of peace in the region, recently launched a new Armenia-Azerbaijan dialogue format in the framework of the European Union's EU4Peace initiative. In the last two weeks dozens of Armenians and Azerbaijanis, including academics, students, civil society activists, journalists and other professionals, many of them young, were involved. The work is organised in five thematic groups focusing on peace and security, connectivity, environment, governance and gender and equality and in phase 2 of the project, which has just ended, around fifty participants took part in in-person and online meetings, and more than twenty others were involved indirectly. The Chairpersons of the five thematic groups met in Vilnius, 3-6 July to launch the third phase of the program. The five thematic groups are now working on separate reports, which are expected to be finished in November and presented to the two governments and other stakeholders. The reports will outline a vision, up to 2040.