President of Georgia in no Hurry to Abandon CIS Because of Cheap Russian Energy Resources

President Eduard Shevardnadze of Georgia is not inclined to declare at the CIS summit in Chisinau Georgia's withdrawal from the Commonwealth of Independent States despite the tension in Russian-Georgian relations. The Georgian leader made this statement at a Monday press conference in Tbilisi. "The Chisinau summit should play a positive role in overcoming difficulties existing in Georgian-Russian relations," Shevardnadze believes.

"Despite the decision made by the country's parliament on Georgia's withdrawal from the Commonwealth, I abstain from fulfilling this recommendation for the time being," the Georgian president said referring to the fact that the task of "overcoming difficulties" in relations with Russia is "more significant than the action demanded to be undertaken by the parliament." The CIS summit in Chisinau is scheduled for October 6-7th.

One of the reasons why Shevardnadze is in no hurry to abandon the CIS lies in the fact that should this happen, Georgia will not be able to receive energy resources from Russia at preferential prices. Currently, despite the crisis in relations between the two countries, Russia continues to provide Georgia with electric power and gas at lowest prices. In response, the official Tbilisi prefers to thank Moscow in quite an original way, i.e. by supporting international terrorists on its territory, which was the reason for a sharp deterioration of Russian-Georgian relations.