CIS Summit, 16 September 2004

CIS SUMMIT FOCUSES ON FIGHT AGAINST TERROR... A summit of CIS leaders took place in Astana on 16 September with a focus on antiterrorism efforts in the wake of recent attacks in Russia, news agencies
reported. "The terrorists who have committed crimes against the Russian Federation present an extremely serious danger to all countries of the world without exception," read a joint statement
cited by regnum.ru. "The heads of the CIS member states express their full solidarity with the Russian Federation in its battle against terrorism." The leaders agreed to step up the activities of the CIS Antiterrorism Center, Kazinform reported....... The summit, which was attended by all CIS leaders except Moldovan President Vladimir Voronin and Turkmen President Saparmurat Niyazov, selected
Putin to replace Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma as CIS chairman. The next summit will take place in Minsk, Belarus in September 2005. DK

...AS KAZAKH PRESIDENT ADVANCES REFORM PROPOSALS... Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbaev proposed a far-reaching reform of the CIS at the leaders' summit on 16 September, Interfax-Kazakhstan reported. He suggested putting the Council of CIS Foreign Ministers in charge of a special Security Council and delegating executive-organ functions to the CIS Antiterrorism Center and Executive Committee, Kazinform reported. Nazarbaev also urged the elimination of duplicate functions by abolishing the council of defense ministers, the headquarters to coordinate military cooperation, the economic court, and the interstate statistics committee. The CIS Executive Committee's staff should be reduced from 220 to 140 people, he said. Nazarbaev said CIS foreign ministers will review his proposals over the next year. Armenian President Robert Kocharian told the press conference after
the summit that "the main reform of the CIS should be to ensure that the decisions that it makes are carried out," RIA-Novosti reported.
DK

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