by Xinhua writer Yu Maofeng
MOSCOW, Oct. 10 (Xinhua) -- President Dmitry Medvedev said after a summit of the Commonwealth of Independent States concluded that he was satisfied with the outcome of the gathering.
That was even though the presidents of Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan did not make the trip to Moldova's capital of Chisinau for the summit that ended Friday.
Established following the disintegration of the former Soviet Union in 1991, the CIS now groups 11 of the 15 former Soviet republics, except three Baltic states and Georgia, which decided to quit the bloc after a five-day conflict with Russia in August 2008.
The summit, which came at a time when the world economy began to show signs of stability, saw an agreement on collective steps to overcome the economic downturn.
Sergei Lebedev, chairman of the CIS executive committee, said the economic crisis will remain the organization's top priority.
Economic ties among the member countries laid a solid foundation for the founding of the CIS and also glued them together during the past 18 years.
The heads of the CIS member states should have gathered in Chisinau to discuss responsive measures amidst the ongoing economic turmoil. The absence of the leaders of four central Asian states cannot help but trigger speculation.
Kazakhstan, the most important country in central Asia, is destined to adhere to the principle of multilateral diplomacy given its strategic location and abundant resources.
Just two days before the CIS summit, Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev met with French President Nicolas Sarkozy and Viktor Chernomyrdin, the Russian president's special envoy for CIS economic cooperation, in Astana.
Nazarbayev has long proposed that the bloc's efficiency be improved. There are more than 70 bodies within the CIS framework and countless documents signed by member states. However, few of the agreements have been implemented faithfully. That might be a reason behind the Kazakh president's absence.
As for Tajikistan, the Russian newspaper Nezavisimaya Gazeta said the country is now looking for other partners in the wake of its failure to gain Russian assistance.
Turkmenistan, which has signed a contract on gas supplies with Russia, has lost the dominance of pricing. Uzbek President Islam Karimov, according to Nezavisimaya Gazeta, regarded his absence as a goodwill gesture to the West since he is seeking its support.
Apparently, the CIS, a bloc founded on the basis of economic ties, has come across internal rifts while dealing with the current economic turbulence.
In fact, Tajik President Emomali Rakhmon was planning to visit Turkmenistan on Oct. 9-10. High on his agenda is to secure energy imports from Turkmenistan. Meanwhile, Turkmenistan is busy exchanging its energy for Uzbek commodities.
For these central Asian countries, the strengthening of economic contacts between each other seems to be even more important than to discuss the issues of the CIS. They have increasingly shifted their focus to multilateral economic relationships from traditional ties with Russia.
Nevertheless, it is too early to conclude that the CIS is going to collapse, the Russian newspaper Novosti Vremya said.
There are at least two reasons, it explained. First, economic and cultural ties, security interests and geopolitical factors will still hold them together.
Second, Russia is determined to develop the post-Soviet bloc. Late President Boris Yeltsin, former President Vladimir Putin and Medvedev all labeled the CIS as Russia's sphere of influence.
