CIS governments to change things for the better by 2020
Yesterday, Moldova hosted a session of the Council of CIS Prime Ministers. Its participants adopted the Commonwealth's economic development strategy through 2020 and discussed the world economic crisis. Watching the CIS Prime Ministers at work, Kommersant special correspondent Vladimir Solovyov concluded that if they continue addressing economic problems as slowly as they did in Chisinau, they may fail to fulfill the strategy's objectives in time.
The Chisinau authorities thoroughly prepared for the CIS Prime Ministers' summit all week long; they seemed to take every detail into consideration. By Thursday - the day when the CIS Prime Ministers began arriving in Chisinau - the city's main streets had been blocked, suspicious cars had been removed, and metropolitan residents were warned against leaning out of their windows without a special need. Nonetheless, the authorities didn't manage to avert all unpleasant surprises.
First, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, who was expected at 9 p.m. on Thursday, did not arrive on time; in fact, he did not come on that day at all. His plane landed in Moldova only yesterday morning. As was discovered later, Mr Putin's flight was delayed because of thick fog, which could not have chosen a worse moment to shroud Chisinau than Thursday. Journalists from the governmental pool were late for the same reason - on Thursday they had to spend almost three hours in the plane, and then were told they could return home until dawn.
However, the Russian Prime Minister was not the only one to keep the rest waiting. His Ukrainian counterpart, Yulia Tymoshenko, was also late. She was only one hour late, but had no good reason. As a result, the visitors' lack of punctuality took a toll on the session's schedule. In a panic, organisers put off the CIS Prime Ministers' meeting with Moldova's President Vladimir Voronin, shifted expanded and restricted sessions, and changed the time frame of the final news conference. In the meantime, journalists discussed rumours that, during Mr Putin's meeting with Vladimir Voronin, planned for the evening, Transdnestr leader Igor Smirnov might be brought to Chisinau to sign some declaration of intent and resolve the Transdnestr conflict.
Belarusian Prime Minister Sergei Sidorsky, Moldovan Prime Minister Zinaida Greceanîi, and CIS Executive Secretary Sergei Lebedev briefed the press on the meeting's outcome. First, Mr Sidorsky reported that he and his counterparts adopted the CIS Economic Development Strategy through 2020. This plan should ensure that nothing will prevent the Commonwealth's republics from flourishing.
Sergei Sidorsky added that, although the global financial crisis was not included in the summit's agenda, the Prime Ministers had discussed it. They came to a conclusion that "the CIS should play an appreciable role in forming a new world financial system". Mr Putin also touched upon the global crisis; at a restricted meeting, he spoke in favour of coordinating the CIS countries' efforts in economy and finance, noting at the same time that the Commonwealth members are "generally fairing well in the current financial storm".
After stating that his work in the CIS could be assessed as generally effective, Mr Sidorsky gave Zinaida Greceanîi the floor, mentioning that Belarus will hand over the CIS rotating presidency to Moldova on January 1.
Sergei Lebedev was the last to take the floor. Complaining that the CIS was not as consolidated as the West in the face of the financial crisis, Sergei Lebedev finished his speech on an optimistic note, "Everything we have done shows that the Commonwealth continues operating."
Sergei Sidorsky, Zinaida Greceanîi, and Sergei Lebedev tried to sound encouraging, whereas the rest members of the Council did not look enthusiastic at all. Only Mr Putin smiled. He was going to hold a bilateral meeting with Yulia Tymoshenko to discuss gas-related issues, which have always been matters "of mutual interest" in Moscow-Kiev relations. The Ukrainian Prime Minister looked puzzled.
There was one more person in Chisinau who looked forward to meeting with Mr Putin - Moldovan President Vladimir Voronin. He hoped that a meeting with the Russian Prime Minister would foster a settlement of the Transdnestr problem. Apparently, they had much to discuss: their conversation lasted till late in the evening, yet Igor Smirnov nonetheless did not arrive in Chisinau.
