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TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 9555
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RUEHXD/MOSCOW POLITICAL COLLECTIVE IMMEDIATE
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C O N F I D E N T I A L MOSCOW 002453 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/14/2018 
TAGS: PGOV PREL PBTS MARR MOPS RS GG CIS
SUBJECT: TFGGO1: RUSSIA REACTS TO GEORGIA'S WITHDRAWAL FROM 
CIS 
 
Classified By: Deputy Chief of Mission Eric S. Rubin for reasons 1.4 (b 
) and (d). 
 
¶1. (C) Summary:  Russian leaders have downplayed Georgia's 
decision to withdraw from the Commonwealth of Independent 
States (CIS).  Russian Duma Deputies and Federation Council 
members have argued that Georgia was only hurting itself by 
withdrawing from the CIS, and that neither Russia nor the 
organization itself would be adversely affected by the move. 
MFA officials have stressed that they have not yet received 
official word of the GOG's decision, but have hinted at 
possible consequences for Georgia.  Indeed, Tbilisi's move 
might resonate more than officials are letting on.  Russia 
attaches importance to regional institutions in which it 
serves as the de facto leader, and has reacted strongly to 
previous Georgian threats to withdraw from the CIS. 
Georgia's decision has already prompted Ukraine to reexamine 
its future relationship with the Russia-dominated club.  The 
complete withdrawal of one, and possibly two, of its 
"western-oriented" neighbors from the CIS could chip away at 
Russian claims of regional hegemony.  End Summary. 
 
-------------------------------------------- 
MFA Awaits Official Word; Will Russia React? 
-------------------------------------------- 
 
¶2. (U) Shortly after Saakashvili's August 12 announcement 
that Georgia would withdraw from the CIS, Russian MFA 
Spokesman Andrey Nesterenko told the news service ITAR-TASS 
that neither the CIS nor the GOR had received official word 
that Georgia would leave the organization.  He also pointed 
out that, according to the CIS charter, member states had to 
notify the organization 12 months prior to withdrawal.  In an 
August 14 interview with the radio station Ekho Moskvy, FM 
Lavrov reiterated Nesterenko's point that no official word of 
Saakashvili's decision had been received, despite the 
Georgian parliament's unanimous approval of the move earlier 
that day.  He refused comment until official notification was 
received. 
 
¶3. (C) According to Nesterenko, the Georgian leader was 
"obviously struggling for his own political survival."  He 
said the Georgian leadership was "impulsive" and 
"irresponsible."  Nesterenko also posited Georgia would be 
cutting itself off from many economic and humanitarian ties 
that the CIS had cultivated.  Russia has made similar 
implicit threats in the past.  When Georgia announced in 2006 
that it was consulting with Ukraine about withdrawing from 
the CIS, Russia claimed that there would be consequences for 
their relationship in economic and social areas. 
Furthermore, when Saakashvili announced in May 2006 that he 
had asked Parliament to review the benefits of Georgia's CIS 
membership, Russia responded two days later with a ban on the 
import of Georgian mineral water.  Now, a failure by Russia 
to react to Georgia's withdrawal could be perceived as a sign 
of acquiescence or weakness by other CIS member states, 
particularly Ukraine. 
 
--------------------------------------------- ---------- 
Federation Council Members Dismiss Impact of Withdrawal 
--------------------------------------------- ---------- 
 
¶4. (U) Federation Council member Svetlana Orlova predicted 
Georgia's withdrawal from the CIS would produce no negative 
consequences.  Despite Russia's history of trying to compel 
Georgia to remain in the organization, Orlova added that 
Georgia brought "nothing but scandal" to the CIS, and the 
organization would be better off without it.  By leaving, 
"Georgia was hurting only itself."  Federation Council member 
Vadim Gustov echoed this sentiment, adding that Georgia was 
walking away from the many trade, economic, and energy 
agreements that it had negotiated within the framework of the 
CIS.  Various Duma Deputies, Federation Council members, and 
the CIS General Secretariat issued similar statements.  No 
official has yet to suggest that Russia take any steps to 
punish Georgia for its withdrawal from the CIS. 
 
--------------------------------------------- ----------- 
CIS May Not Be Affected, but Will Russia's Image Suffer? 
--------------------------------------------- ----------- 
 
¶5. (C) Vremya Novosti Political Correspondent Arkadiy Dubnov 
pointed out Georgia did not join the CIS until March 1, 1994, 
making it the last country to join and the first country to 
leave.  He told us that the CIS would be little affected by 
 
the departure of Georgia, as Georgia had been a rather 
unenthusiastic member and the CIS a rather ineffective 
organization.  Russia's relations with Georgia were sour 
prior to the conflict in South Ossetia, and Georgia's 
withdrawal from the CIS would not make much difference.  Head 
of the CIS and Baltic Center Leonid Vardomskiy also argued 
that Russia would lose little by Georgia's withdrawal from 
the CIS.  Russia already had imposed an economic blockade on 
Georgia, Russian exports to Georgia were at the same level as 
before Saakashvili came to power, and a visa regime already 
existed between the two countries, he argued. 
 
Comment 
------- 
 
¶6.  (C) However, even if the CIS is moribund, Russia has 
always been eager to attach importance to Moscow's leading 
role in the institution and to the institution itself. 
Together with the Collective Security Treaty Organization and 
the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, Russia sees the CIS as 
a way of maintaining its dominant role in the region and its 
influence on its neighbors.  In comparison to the events in 
South Ossetia and Abkhazia of the last week, Georgia's 
withdrawal from the CIS is seen as a slight blip in 
Russian-Georgian relations.  However, over the long-term it 
has the potential to chip away at Moscow's regional role, 
especially if other states follow Ukraine's example and start 
reexamining their membership, too.  End Comment. 
BEYRLE