DUSHANBE, August 19, 2008, Asia-Plus – On August 18, the Georgian Foreign Ministry, in an official note sent to the Executive Committee of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), informed it about the Georgian parliament”s resolution on the country”s withdrawal from the CIS.
As of August 18, 2008, Georgia has dropped all commitments related to its membership in the CIS, the statement says.
In the meantime, BBC News reports that NATO foreign ministers are gathering in Brussels for an emergency summit to discuss how the alliance should respond to Russia”s military action in Georgia.
On the eve of the meeting, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said the West must deprive Russia of any strategic victory from its assault on Georgia.
But major differences remain among NATO members as to how far they should go in seeking to punish Russia, analysts say.
Tbilisi says Russia is not pulling out, as pledged, but Moscow denies it.
The conflict broke out on August 8 when Georgia launched an assault to wrest back control of the breakaway region of South Ossetia, triggering a counter-offensive by Russian troops.
A ceasefire was signed at the weekend, with Moscow pledging to begin pulling back its troops on Monday.
