THIRTY YEARS AFTER PEACEFUL DIVORCE

December 2021 marks the 30th anniversary of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). The organisation uniting the majority of the republics of the former Soviet Union has always been considered as a mechanism of peaceful divorce of these republics. Therefore, it has been thought to exist for a relatively short historical period. However, after almost a third of a century, it became obvious that the CIS was actually not a burden for the member states of the Commonwealth. This is a platform for interstate dialogue and cooperation in the post-Soviet space, a format for discussing various problems, including political, economic, cultural, and humanitarian.

Ongoing mission

The history of the CIS dates back to the conclusion of the Belovezhskaya Treaty signed by the leaders of Russia, Belarus, and Ukraine on December 8, 1991. This document put an end to the USSR and forecast the emergence of the Commonwealth of Independent States, which accounted for the historical commonality of peoples living on such a vast territory, and proclaimed an intention to develop relations based on mutual recognition and respect for state sovereignty of  the member states. The Treaty was ratified after several days by the parliaments of Belarus, Russia, and Ukraine. The idea of CIS was immediately supported by the Central Asian republics of the former USSR. On December 13, 1991, in Ashgabat, the presidents of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan adopted a statement confirming their consent to join the organisation subject to equal participation and recognition of all CIS states as the founding states.

Then, the then President of Kazakhstan, Nursultan Nazarbayev, took over the initiative of organisational establishment of the CIS. Thanks to his suggestion, the first CIS summit including the heads of 11 former Soviet republics (Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Ukraine) was held in the then capital of Kazakhstan, Alma-Ata, on December 21, 1991. The participants signed the Alma-Ata Declaration, which outlined the goals and principles of the CIS. The principle of equality through coordinating institutions formed on a parity basis and acting as determined by the relevant agreements between the member states of the Commonwealth, which is neither a state nor a supranational entity, was especially underlined in the declaration. The idea was to dispel the fears of the majority of the member states about possible attempts by the Russian Federation, as the legal successor of the USSR, to embark on the restoration of a single state.

Of the 15 former Soviet republics, the Baltic states of Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia remained outside the CIS. Georgia initially did not enter CIS, then joined it, but after the August 2008 war, it finally left the organisation. Of the founding states of CIS, Ukraine actually suspended its participation in the organisation in response to the 2014 conflict with Russia over Crimea and Donbass. With Turkmenistan being an associated member of the CIS, the body has nine full member states today.

Despite the political turmoil and economic difficulties of the past 30 years, CIS has nevertheless fulfilled its main mission. After the collapse of the USSR, it avoided any wars of ‘all against all’—a gloomy prospect of total carnage highly likely given the serious disagreements and even conflicts between the individual CIS states. In fact, the very similar processes taking place in the disintegrating Yugoslavia back in the early 1990s also increased the likelihood of such a prospective. However, despite a number of conflicts, in particular, between Azerbaijan and Armenia, in Georgia and Moldova, the Commonwealth has managed to stay afloat. Why? Because since its inception, the CIS has set tasks that corresponded to realities. Thanks to such a simple approach, the majority of the member states viewed the very existence of the organisation as not posing any geopolitical and economic threats for them. A whole range of further developments within the Commonwealth met the vital interests of the member states, such as the simplified procedures for the movement of their citizens within the CIS states, mutual recognition of education certificates, etc. At the same time, the states express through the CIS and the adopted decisions their position on problems of mutual interest, opportunities for integration and the development of mutually beneficial cooperation.

For example, on December 18, 2020 the Council of Heads of State adopted another significant document, the Concept for the Further Development of the Commonwealth, which defines economic cooperation as a key priority of the organisation mainly through the further development of free trade zones, digital economy, and information security. Other priorities are cooperation in the humanitarian field, security, fight against crime, development of a coordinated migration policy, and cooperation in environmental protection.

A significant event in the history of the CIS was the statement adopted at the videoconference of the heads of state in October 2021 on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the CIS. The heads of state stated that today the CIS countries have the necessary legal framework that allows them to organise beneficial cooperation based on economic ties, full-fledged trade opportunities contributing to the well-being of the populations of the member states. It is considered paramount to ensure the growth of welfare through the introduction of advanced forms and technologies, the development of green economy, rational use of resources. These tasks are reflected in the CIS Economic Development Strategy for the period up to 2030.

It is worth mentioning such an important area of humanitarian cooperation as the preservation of common historical heritage, primarily the memory of our common victory in the 1941-1945 Great Patriotic War. Therefore, the statement of the heads of state urged the member states to resist attempts to falsify history, revise the results of the Second World War, and glorify Nazism.

Indeed, the glorification of fascism in individual countries of the post-Soviet space, including Armenia, is one of the serious political and ideological challenges faced by the Commonwealth. However, the response to this challenge requires the member states to take effective steps in the interests of peace and security in the entire post-Soviet space. Obviously, ensuring stability, security, and sustainable development in the CIS cannot simply achieved only by declaring specific goals.

The confrontation between individual CIS countries undermines the long-term prospects of the organisation. And it's not only about Azerbaijan and Armenia, which have been at war since the organisation's inception, but also about the conflict on the border between Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. Russia also has problems with its relations with Moldova and Ukraine, which is formally formally a member of the Commonwealth. The future of the CIS depends not only on the solution of economic problems and strengthening humanitarian cooperation, but also on the resolution of security-related problems. It is the sustainable foundational structure of the CIS, which ensures the integration of its member states on a significant portion of the post-Soviet space, that has made the organisation exist 30 years after the collapse of the USSR, not the occasional summits of the heads of state.

Azerbaijan’s priorities

Azerbaijan views the CIS as a platform for mutually beneficial cooperation, maintaining and developing historical ties between the peoples and countries of the former USSR. Azerbaijan is also one of signatories of the 1991 Alma-Ata Declaration. The country became a full member state later though, on September 24, 1993, during the presidency of Heydar Aliyev, who far-sightedly assumed that the membership in the organisation would in no way become an obstacle to strengthening Azerbaijan’s independence. This membership contributed to the development of equal and mutually beneficial relations between Azerbaijan and other countries of the Commonwealth.

Baku considers economic cooperation in security-related issues a priority within the CIS. At the same time, Azerbaijan does not support the decisions that it considers inconsistent with its national interests, such as joining the CIS Free Trade Zone. At the same time, Azerbaijan makes a significant contribution to the implementation of humanitarian projects within the Commonwealth. Thus, thanks to the active participation of Azerbaijan in one of the interstate programs of the CIS, the Azerbaijani cities of Gabala (2013) and Ganja (2017) were awarded the title of Cultural Capitals of the Commonwealth.

Another extremely important factor that makes the participation in the CIS attractive for Azerbaijan is that for almost 30 years the Commonwealth has provided another international platform through which Baku has communicated its fair position in the conflict with Armenia to the international community. Political and informational significance of Azerbaijan’s outreach activities within the organisation is also confirmed by the statements of the President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev made at numerous CIS summits.

In his speech at the meeting of the Council of CIS Heads of State held on December 18, 2020, Ilham Aliyev spoke about the results of the 44-day war, which ended with the victory of Azerbaijan. At the last meeting of the Council, Mr. Aliyev focused on the tasks of the post-conflict period. Underlining that "the war and the conflict remained in history," Mr. Aliyev expressed his readiness to start negotiations with Armenia on a peace agreement and border delimitation subject to mutual recognition of territorial integrity.

The principal position of Azerbaijan on the issue of achieving long-term peace in the region once again confirms its peaceful policy in general, a policy focused on developing civilised relations and mutually beneficial cooperation with all countries. Primarily, with its neighbours and the countries historically cooperating with Azerbaijan for centuries. Therefore, Azerbaijan's activities within the CIS, its relations with the member countries are of particular importance both in the context of strengthening bilateral ties and the role of Baku in political and economic processes in Eurasia.