МЕЖДУНАРОДНОЕ ПРАВО (последнее)
Development of the CIS: a View from Kazakhstan
Актуальные публикации по вопросам международного права и международных отношений.
During the first six years of the existence of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) sovereign states were established and the search for an optimal model of the relations with each other was going on. Analysing the process of the establishment of the CIS, four most important stages in its development, and in- tegrational initiatives that accompanied the entire six-year path of the CIS, can be identified.
Stages of the Development of the CIS
The first stage of the development of the CIS-the creation stage- is related to the end of 1991, when the well-known Belovezhsky agreement was signed. The situation was such that the collapse of the USSR could lead to a conflict between the Slavic and Turkic republics, to a confrontation based on ethnic differences and to unpredictable consequences. Moreover, a system of inter-state relations on the entire post-Soviet space did not exist. A model of relations with countries that are not members of the CIS and with international organisations was also absent. Considering this, the process of establishing new relations and their organisational formation required a handy idea and its quick implementation. In five days after the Belovezhsky summit, the leaders of Central Asian states-Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan-held a meeting. In the course of difficult negotiations, the key position became that of N. Nazarbaev, supported by I. Karimov. This position was based on the proposal to start a dialogue with the leaders of the Slavic states to enter the Commonwealth as its founders. In order to prevent a growing disintegration and signs of distrust in the relations between the republics, N. Nazarbaev insisted that a meeting be held in Kazakhstan where all interested states could participate. Such a meeting was held on December 21, 1991, in Almaty. From the moment of this meeting a new term appeared-the Commonwealth of Independent States, abbreviated as CIS. It can be said that the creation of the CIS then was solving the problem of shaping in a civilised way the collapse of the Soviet Union, preventing potential conflicts between the states, and laying a foundation for normal inter-state relations between the former Soviet republics.
Kazakh analysts called the second stage of the CIS's development- 1992 and the beginning of 1993-as the creation stage of the organisational foundation of the CIS. Then, the organisational structure of the Commonwealth was formed-the Council of Heads of State, the Council of Heads of Governments, Inter-parliamentary Assembly of the CIS. Later on, the Council of Ministers of Foreign Affairs and the Council of Ministers of Defence were created. The Executive Secretariat of the CIS also began its work at that time.
During the third stage, in 1993-94, the work to create a legal basis for the relations among the Commonwealth states started. Hundreds of multilateral and bilateral agreements were drafted and signed. Particularly important was the signing in 1993 of the agreement to create an economic union. This step by the leaders of the CIS was timely since the Commonwealth at that time was going through a deep crisis which was accompanied by an increase in social-economic tensions. The crisis was undermining the very idea of the CIS as a community of friendly nations.
During this period, there appeared the need for a concept that could comprehensively and realistically define the prospects for the development of the post-Soviet space. The idea of forming a new integrational association, a Eurasian Union of States, was proposed by the President of Kazakhstan N. Nazarbaev. On June 3, 1994, the proposal to form the Eurasian Union of States was sent to the heads of the CIS states. There was a positive public reaction to this initiative in Kazakhstan as well as abroad. The idea was welcomed and supported by well-known government and political leaders in the CIS countries, Europe, and Asia. Many leaders in their messages and public statements noted that the proposal contained a civilised formula for combining national-state interests with the necessity of integration on a new basis, first of all, in the economic sphere.
In 1995-96, the Commonwealth entered the stage of establishing closer relations: the formation of the Customs Union of Kazakhstan, Russia, Belarus, and Kyrgyzstan began. In March of 1996, these countries signed an agreement to deepen integration in economic and humanitarian spheres, which is known as the agreement "4+n". Under these conditions, as I see it, the views of President N. Nazarbaev, which were expressed in his work "At the Threshold of the 21st Century", have great significance in that they promote realistic understanding of the prospects for the development of the post-Soviet space.
Integration Without Equality Has No Future
The urgency of the idea of two-speed and multi-tiered integration that was proposed two years ago has now become evident. In the opinion of President N. Nazarbaev, special "integrational centres" should be formed from countries that are similar enough in their levels of economic reforms and their standards of living. During bila-teral and multilateral meetings of the leaders of the Commonwealth countries, which were held in the past two years, there was a search going on for the most acceptable forms of regional integration. As a result, an agreement to form the Union of Russia and Belarus and the Inter-state Council of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan appeared. The possibility of creating a Customs Union between Ukraine and Moldova is also being considered. This is a natural and, possibly, most necessitated way of economic rapprochement of states, especially since integration processes within the framework of the CIS do not come into conflict with the development of bilateral relations. It is typical that today on the territory of the Commonwealth-and no one denies this-there exists a mutual desire to unite in order to overcome existing difficulties which face the Commonwealth as a whole as well as each state individually. Decisions that were made in February, 1997, at the meeting of the Integration Committee of the four CIS countries once again demonstrated the desire of Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan to create an effective mechanism for the implementation of the agreement on deepening integration in economic and humanitarian spheres. There have already been real results: during the current year, 50% of Kazakhstan's total foreign trade was with the Commonwealth's countries. Last October, at the initiative of President N. Nazarbaev, the four CIS countries considered the problem of applying value-added tax at the place of destination of goods and expressed their readiness to calculate VAT that way beginning with January 1, 1998. This creates greater opportunities for an increase of foreign trade between Kazakhstan, Belarus, Russia, and Kyrgyzstan.
Nevertheless, today, as President N. Nazarbaev noted, it is essential to have a clear strategy and realistic goals. And here the clear goal of real integrational unification is the creation of a common market, a market with no technical and tax borders which place barriers in the way of movement of goods, capital, and labour.
Calls for and attempts at forced integration create the biggest danger for real integration. The experience of effective integration at the threshold of the 21st century shows that most acceptable are levers of economic and cultural influence. It is extremely risky to substitute them with seemingly effective but in reality archaic and ineffective means, to apply the experience of the USSR to the CIS.
An essential condition for the real integration is a declaration that co-operation between the CIS states is the priority in the CIS countries' foreign policy. The key condition for integration is the recognition of political institutions that have been formed in different countries, as well as an unconditional recognition of territorial integrity of the CIS states. Furthermore, as the President of Kazakhstan said, "integration that is not based on the principle of equality does not have a future." No doubt, the deve-lopment of bilateral relations and integration in the CIS are possible only if they are based on the respect of each other's interests, and if the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the states are maintained. The Kazakhstan's current foreign policy is based on this position. It is evident that integrationism based on equality, independent will and pragmatic interest is one of the main pre-requisites for a worthy future of the Eurasian Union, an idea that has been consistently supported by the President of Kazakhstan N. Nazarbaev.
Stages of the Development of the CIS
The first stage of the development of the CIS-the creation stage- is related to the end of 1991, when the well-known Belovezhsky agreement was signed. The situation was such that the collapse of the USSR could lead to a conflict between the Slavic and Turkic republics, to a confrontation based on ethnic differences and to unpredictable consequences. Moreover, a system of inter-state relations on the entire post-Soviet space did not exist. A model of relations with countries that are not members of the CIS and with international organisations was also absent. Considering this, the process of establishing new relations and their organisational formation required a handy idea and its quick implementation. In five days after the Belovezhsky summit, the leaders of Central Asian states-Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan-held a meeting. In the course of difficult negotiations, the key position became that of N. Nazarbaev, supported by I. Karimov. This position was based on the proposal to start a dialogue with the leaders of the Slavic states to enter the Commonwealth as its founders. In order to prevent a growing disintegration and signs of distrust in the relations between the republics, N. Nazarbaev insisted that a meeting be held in Kazakhstan where all interested states could participate. Such a meeting was held on December 21, 1991, in Almaty. From the moment of this meeting a new term appeared-the Commonwealth of Independent States, abbreviated as CIS. It can be said that the creation of the CIS then was solving the problem of shaping in a civilised way the collapse of the Soviet Union, preventing potential conflicts between the states, and laying a foundation for normal inter-state relations between the former Soviet republics.
Kazakh analysts called the second stage of the CIS's development- 1992 and the beginning of 1993-as the creation stage of the organisational foundation of the CIS. Then, the organisational structure of the Commonwealth was formed-the Council of Heads of State, the Council of Heads of Governments, Inter-parliamentary Assembly of the CIS. Later on, the Council of Ministers of Foreign Affairs and the Council of Ministers of Defence were created. The Executive Secretariat of the CIS also began its work at that time.
During the third stage, in 1993-94, the work to create a legal basis for the relations among the Commonwealth states started. Hundreds of multilateral and bilateral agreements were drafted and signed. Particularly important was the signing in 1993 of the agreement to create an economic union. This step by the leaders of the CIS was timely since the Commonwealth at that time was going through a deep crisis which was accompanied by an increase in social-economic tensions. The crisis was undermining the very idea of the CIS as a community of friendly nations.
During this period, there appeared the need for a concept that could comprehensively and realistically define the prospects for the development of the post-Soviet space. The idea of forming a new integrational association, a Eurasian Union of States, was proposed by the President of Kazakhstan N. Nazarbaev. On June 3, 1994, the proposal to form the Eurasian Union of States was sent to the heads of the CIS states. There was a positive public reaction to this initiative in Kazakhstan as well as abroad. The idea was welcomed and supported by well-known government and political leaders in the CIS countries, Europe, and Asia. Many leaders in their messages and public statements noted that the proposal contained a civilised formula for combining national-state interests with the necessity of integration on a new basis, first of all, in the economic sphere.
In 1995-96, the Commonwealth entered the stage of establishing closer relations: the formation of the Customs Union of Kazakhstan, Russia, Belarus, and Kyrgyzstan began. In March of 1996, these countries signed an agreement to deepen integration in economic and humanitarian spheres, which is known as the agreement "4+n". Under these conditions, as I see it, the views of President N. Nazarbaev, which were expressed in his work "At the Threshold of the 21st Century", have great significance in that they promote realistic understanding of the prospects for the development of the post-Soviet space.
Integration Without Equality Has No Future
The urgency of the idea of two-speed and multi-tiered integration that was proposed two years ago has now become evident. In the opinion of President N. Nazarbaev, special "integrational centres" should be formed from countries that are similar enough in their levels of economic reforms and their standards of living. During bila-teral and multilateral meetings of the leaders of the Commonwealth countries, which were held in the past two years, there was a search going on for the most acceptable forms of regional integration. As a result, an agreement to form the Union of Russia and Belarus and the Inter-state Council of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan appeared. The possibility of creating a Customs Union between Ukraine and Moldova is also being considered. This is a natural and, possibly, most necessitated way of economic rapprochement of states, especially since integration processes within the framework of the CIS do not come into conflict with the development of bilateral relations. It is typical that today on the territory of the Commonwealth-and no one denies this-there exists a mutual desire to unite in order to overcome existing difficulties which face the Commonwealth as a whole as well as each state individually. Decisions that were made in February, 1997, at the meeting of the Integration Committee of the four CIS countries once again demonstrated the desire of Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan to create an effective mechanism for the implementation of the agreement on deepening integration in economic and humanitarian spheres. There have already been real results: during the current year, 50% of Kazakhstan's total foreign trade was with the Commonwealth's countries. Last October, at the initiative of President N. Nazarbaev, the four CIS countries considered the problem of applying value-added tax at the place of destination of goods and expressed their readiness to calculate VAT that way beginning with January 1, 1998. This creates greater opportunities for an increase of foreign trade between Kazakhstan, Belarus, Russia, and Kyrgyzstan.
Nevertheless, today, as President N. Nazarbaev noted, it is essential to have a clear strategy and realistic goals. And here the clear goal of real integrational unification is the creation of a common market, a market with no technical and tax borders which place barriers in the way of movement of goods, capital, and labour.
Calls for and attempts at forced integration create the biggest danger for real integration. The experience of effective integration at the threshold of the 21st century shows that most acceptable are levers of economic and cultural influence. It is extremely risky to substitute them with seemingly effective but in reality archaic and ineffective means, to apply the experience of the USSR to the CIS.
An essential condition for the real integration is a declaration that co-operation between the CIS states is the priority in the CIS countries' foreign policy. The key condition for integration is the recognition of political institutions that have been formed in different countries, as well as an unconditional recognition of territorial integrity of the CIS states. Furthermore, as the President of Kazakhstan said, "integration that is not based on the principle of equality does not have a future." No doubt, the deve-lopment of bilateral relations and integration in the CIS are possible only if they are based on the respect of each other's interests, and if the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the states are maintained. The Kazakhstan's current foreign policy is based on this position. It is evident that integrationism based on equality, independent will and pragmatic interest is one of the main pre-requisites for a worthy future of the Eurasian Union, an idea that has been consistently supported by the President of Kazakhstan N. Nazarbaev.
Опубликовано 29 апреля 2014 года
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