TBILISI, May 2 (RIA Novosti) - President Mikheil Saakashvili instructed his government Tuesday to look at economic aspects of the country's continued membership of the CIS, and report back within two months.
The move could signal the beginning of Georgia's withdrawal from the Commonwealth of Independent States, a loose union of former Soviet republics, in a move that has been the subject of speculation for some time.
"I instructed the government to study the issue, and give me in a month or two an economic assessment of the practicability of Georgia's being a member of the CIS," Saakashvili said.
But he said Georgia still wants to maintain an active dialogue with Russia - widely seen as the dominant force in the CIS - and was not suffering from Russophobia.
"We want to have neighborly relations with a Russia that would not close the only Georgian church in Moscow simply because it holds services in Georgian," he said.
Relations between the two former Soviet republics have been tense in recent months. Georgia's West-leaning government has pressed for Russia to follow through on agreements to withdraw its remaining troops stationed at two Soviet-era bases in the Caucasian country, while Russia recently banned imports of Georgian wine, fruits and vegetables over health concerns.
Saakashvili said that the ban was an attempt "to cause famine and social problems in Georgia that could hamper the reestablishment of [the country's] territorial integrity."
"We have to wake up, assess the situation correctly and determine the threat we are facing," he said.
Georgia's economics minister, Kakha Bendukidze, warned earlier Tuesday against a too-hasty withdrawal from the CIS.
"[Withdrawing from the CIS] is a concrete question involving privileges for our citizens and our goods," he told reporters.
