MOSCOW, Dec. 31 (Xinhua) -- Georgia has planned to eventually secede from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), a loose grouping of ex-Soviet republics, but not in a hurry, Itar-Tass news agency reported on Monday, citing a senior cabinet member.

    "Georgia will eventually secede from the CIS, but this decision will be made at the most advantageous moment so that it does not harm Georgia," State Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration Georgy Baramidze was quoted as saying.

    CIS, formed after the Soviet collapse in 1991, groups 12 of the former 15 republics of the Soviet Union with Moscow in a dominating position.

    Georgian opposition has asked for an early secession from the CIS, claiming such membership collides with Georgia's set policy of integration with NATO.

    But President Mikhail Saakashvili, scheduled to run for a second term of office at an early presidential election on Jan. 5,2008, has rejected a hasty withdrawal.

    "So far, the CIS membership enables Georgia to develop relations with the majority of CIS member states and use this organization as a floor for defending its position," Baramidze said in an interview with the Georgian Public TV Sunday evening.

    The minister also vowed to improve ties with Russia, saying such relations "must be normalized on principles of equality and mutual respect, with due account of Georgia's territorial integrity."

    Moscow and Tbilisi are in rows on arrays of disputes, such as Georgia's ambition to join NATO and the Caucasus nation's breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia that allegedly gained supports from Russia.

    Georgia has been pursuing NATO membership since the late 1990s and its officials have repeatedly expressed their wish for a candidate status of NATO membership in 2008.