Miasnikovich invites Georgia to CIS

Following the Belarusian ruler the prime minister invites Tbilisi to return to the CIS.

Mikhail Miasnikovich made this statement opening a meeting of the CIS Council of Heads of Government, NewsGeorgia agency reports.

“The Belarusian side stands for further systematic and effective work to cancel the current exceptions and restrictions in the agreement. We'd like the countries that are not member of the CIS to sign the document. We will welcome our Georgian colleagues to join the agreement. There are opportunities to do it,” Miasnikovich said.

According to him, some issues on the development of the agreement were discussed at the meeting of the CIS heads of government before the session of the Council, RIA Novosti reports.

“There were particular proposals. We were discussing the ways to solve them. It means the agreement works. It is the document that will help the development of mutual trade and economic relations,” the head of the Belarusian government added.

Georgia announced the country's withdrawal from the CIS after the August war in 2008. The Georgian MFA informed the CIS executive committee on the decision on August 18. The official procedures were completed 12 months later.

Bidzina Ivanishvili said as a prime minister that Georgia had no plans to return to the CIS but was going to deepen the relations with all CIS member states.

Lukashenka said at a summit in October in Minsk that Georgia should come back to the CIS. After the scandalous initiative of the Belarusian ruler Tbilisi confirmed several times that the country didn't plan to return to the CIS or the Free Trade Space, because Georgia's priority was the European integration. However, the Belarusian PM has his own priorities, among them those relating to Georgia's future.