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CIS leaders to develop ex-Soviet group further

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Leaders of 12 former Soviet republics, in the Tajik capital, Dushanbe for a Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) summit, agreed on Friday to develop further the post-Soviet alliance.
DUSHANBE, October 5 (RIA Novosti) -- Leaders of 12 former Soviet republics, in the Tajik capital, Dushanbe for a Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) summit, agreed on Friday to develop further the post-Soviet alliance.

The leaders of the ex-Soviet states pledged to establish a free trade zone and enhance it according to the rules of the World Trade Organization.

"Today, the priority of the CIS is economic cooperation," the declaration reads. "Full-fledged economic cooperation between the CIS member countries is a precondition for stable development."

Consolidating cooperation in energy, including oil and gas production, transportation and transit, was also announced a priority amid disputes over gas prices between Russia, which seeks to dominate the CIS, and Ukraine, Georgia and Belarus.

The CIS leaders also adopted a declaration on coordinated migration policies, under which they pledged to secure the right to free movement and relocation for CIS residents.

The leaders of the former Soviet republics decided to streamline and unify the Commonwealth's bodies and agencies. Proposals were voiced to enhance the role of rotating chairmanship.

Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev, leader of the host country, said Kyrgyzstan would next hold the rotating CIS chairmanship, and Bishkek, the Kyrgyz capital, would host the next summit in September 2008.

Earlier reports said the former head of Russia's foreign intelligence service, Sergei Lebedev, 59, was to become the head of the CIS Executive Committee.

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