Good afternoon. Our colleagues have instructed me and the President of Moldova to brief you on the results of our work, which we will do with pleasure.

In the first place, I want to sincerely thank once more our Moldovan friends for the hospitality and the special atmosphere of warmth and cordiality which we saw here. They had done everything for the work of the Heads of State Council of the Commonwealth to go smoothly, without organizational problems. Thanks.

At this summit, for all the diversity of the many-sided questions which we examined, the theme of improving the structure of the Commonwealth's mechanisms occupied the central position. A package of measures has been elaborated to provide for stricter control over the course of the implementation of decisions adopted. We also agreed to raise the role of the institution of permanent representatives of the member countries. We hope the steps agreed by us will increase the impact of their work and make the implementation of adopted decisions prompter and more effective. In addition, we agreed on a clearer delineation of powers among the governing bodies of the CIS, and the optimization of the very structure of the Commonwealth and its working apparatuses.

We devoted special attention to joint measures to rebuff common threats and signed a protocol confirming the regulation on the procedure for organizing and carrying out joint antiterrorist activities.

We took decisions to create a Central Asian Division of the CIS Antiterrorist Center. This is one of the measures to counter dangers coming from the southern direction, including the rapidly growing illicit trade in narcotics. Besides that, a special concept was adopted determining ways of joint counteraction against this evil.

An interstate program of joint measures to fight crime for the years 2003-2004 was also approved today. Cooperation in the law enforcement sphere has long ago proved its effectiveness. We firmly intend to continue this work.

The problems of economic cooperation were also discussed. We reaffirmed the importance of creating a free trade zone in a broad format of the CIS. There is a full understanding of the need for careful consideration of the interests of all the partners. It was with a special feeling that we signed a decision on preparations for our common holiday - the 60th anniversary of the Victory of the Soviet Union in the Patriotic War.

All the decisions taken by us are certainly important for our states, for the development of integration, but of basic importance is also another point. We agreed to continue to go along the path of building up the Commonwealth's potential. And by our next meeting experts, working together, will prepare the basis for a discussion of decisions for the coming years. Considering that the key issue at this meeting was the perfecting of the structure of the CIS, the Russian delegation came up with a proposal to correct the fundamental documents connected with the rotation of the governing bodies of the CIS. I proposed considering the candidacy of Ukraine for the post of Chairman of the Commonwealth. This question will be considered at our next meeting with due regard for the necessity to introduce relevant amendments, I repeat, to the statutory documents.

Thank you for your attention.

President Putin: Do the statements I made on September 11 remain in force? I on September 11 made so many statements... You mean the statement on our relations with Georgia? Those statements, I hope, will in no way be realized if our agreements of yesterday with the Georgian President are realized. I believe there are no obstacles to implementing in practice what Eduard Amvrosiyevich and I yesterday agreed on.

Thank you very much, all the best!


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© Publication of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation.

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