President Putin holds Security Council's session on CIS affairs

Russian President Vladimir Putin deems it necessary to upgrade the cooperation model in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS).

"It would raise the CIS efficiency," Mr. Putin said at the Russian Security Council's session on the CIS affairs.

"This demand also concerns Russia, which policy in the CIS is not always effective, pragmatic and, above all, systematic," the President noted.

"We have come up to a certain stage in the CIS development and are facing an alternative. Either we shall achieve proper consolidation of the commonwealth and turn it into a really efficient and influential regional structure, or we shall inevitably see the collapse of this geopolitical structure and the decline of the CIS members' interest in its work," the head of state proceeded.

"We should prevent this turn of events," he emphasized.

In Vladimir Putin's opinion, Russia should propose attractive ways to solve common CIS problem. "Russia is playing a great role in the increase of the CIS authority and prestige," he added.

For many objective reasons Russia remains "the booster of integration within the CIS" and other CIS leaders agree with me, Mr. Putin said.

However, "it does not mean that Russia has any monopoly of the activities in this region".

We are facing the growing political and economic competition in the CIS. To consolidate its positions Russia should forward and implement effective and attractive solutions of common CIS problems, the Russian leader stressed.

Vladimir Putin criticized the work of Russian departments charged with the CIS affairs. "All the interested bodies should regard the work in the CIS as an important and crucial aspect of their activities," the President went on.

"However, the work of our departments for CIS affairs is far from satisfactory," Mr. Putin believes. "It is badly coordinated, informed and staffed up and some departments attach little importance to it," the head of state noted.

According to him, this is not the state approach.

The President also focused on the reforms of Russian diplomatic missions in the CIS. However, it does not mean that he criticizes the work of the Foreign Ministry.

We should not be indifferent to violations of rights of our compatriots and should help them solve their problems, he said.

Vladimir Putin also spoke about the necessity to coordinate military-technical cooperation of the Commonwealth of Independent States.

Moreover, we must promote interaction between the special services and law enforcement bodies on the post-Soviet space, the head of state said.

In his words, it is also necessary to expand the CIS scientific and education space. "This is a vital question for our citizens," he stressed.

Mr. Putin considers it "a cornerstone of the CIS competitiveness at global markets".

"The promotion of joint research work, technological cooperation, training of CIS students in Russian universities, formation of Russian culture and language centers and permanent information exchange on life and achievements in the CIS should be priority aspects in this sphere," the Russian President noted.

"I hope that our discussion will make a contribution into the formation of Russia's long-term strategy on this key trend," he emphasized.

According to the head of state, this strategy "should meet new geopolitical realia and based on clear understanding of our national interests and realistic assessment of Russia's possibilities".

We can achieve real progress if we find mutual benefits with partners, Vladimir Putin added.

Russia is interested in stable development and economic growth of all the CIS countries, he stressed. "This is the basic principle and initial precondition of our activities in the commonwealth," Mr. Putin note.

In his words, interstate cooperation is "A serious factor of sovereignty and security of most CIS countries".

Therefore, "Russia's active and structured policy on the CIS space is an important instrument to combat international terrorism, trans-border crime, illegal migration, arms and drug trafficking", he said.

Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov, Security Council Secretary Igor Ivanov, Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin, Justice Minister Yuri Chaika, Prosecutor General Vladimir Ustinov, director of the Foreign Intelligence Service Sergei Lebedev, head of the Federal Security Service Nikolai Patrushev, Interior Minister Rashid Nurgaliyev, Economic Development and Trade Minister Gherman Gref, Industry and Energy Minister Viktor Khristenko, Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, State Duma Speaker Boris Gryzlov, chief of the General Staff Yuri Baluyevsky and others took part in the Russian Security Council's session.