Russian Government Comments On Georgia's Possible Withdrawal From CIS

Georgia's population will not benefit from its withdrawal from CIS. This opinion was expressed on Friday by Alexei Volin, deputy head of the Russian government apparatus. He was commenting on Georgia's possible withdrawal from CIS. "Georgia's history has shown that the republic's isolation only makes the life of its people worse," said Volin. Many Georgian deputies, prompted by President Eduard Shevardnadze, are notably expressing themselves in favour of quitting the commonwealth of the former Soviet republics. At the same time, Alexei Volin said that "CIS is a voluntary formation and nobody forces anyone to stay in it." He also recalled that the former Soviet republics had united to form the Commonwealth of Independent States, for that promoted their integration and mutually advantageous cooperation.