Shevardnadze thinks Georgia's withdrawal from CIS useless

Georgian President Eduard Shevardnadze has reiterated that he finds it useless to withdraw Georgia from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), neither to withdraw peacekeepers from the country. The Georgian leader made this statement on Monday in a traditional interview with National radio.

According to him, the withdrawal of peacekeepers from the Abkhazian-Georgian conflict zone is highly likely to result in the resumption of war. "The country should be ready to accept new realities in the conflict zone. We ought to think about global steps targeted at obtaining alternative guarantees," he stated. The Georgian leader believes that the issue of withdrawing peacekeepers from Georgia will be included into the agenda after the issue of their replacement is solved.

He firmly believes that "CIS potential has not depleted yet." "This is the very reason why 12 countries have been cooperating within its framework for several years running," Shevardnadze stressed. According to him, "Georgia's withdrawal from the CIS will be an incorrect step, which CIS member-states will not understand."