Moldova takes over chair of a CSI left by Georgia

Moldova takes over the rotating presidency of the Community of Independent States (CIS) from Kyrgyzstan on Friday. The message was delivered to media accredited at the CIS summit in the Kyrgyz capital by the organization's executive secretary Sergei Lebedev, Info-Prim Neo reports. The agenda of the reunion of CIS heads of states contains Georgia's notification on leaving the organization. The Georgian Parliament made the decision on 18 August 2008 and, under the CIS regulation, it is to enter force 12 months later. In Bishkek, the heads of states sign joint statements on some 20 areas related mostly to economic interaction. According to the press unit of the Kyrgyz Foreign Ministry, the presidents of Georgia, Ukraine and Azerbaijan will not attend the summit. Jointly with those three countries, Moldova is part of another regional organization — GUAM — which is sighted by observers as an alternative to the CIS.