Ukraine's withdrawal from the CIS Anti-Terrorist Centre formalises the current practice
The decision of the Ukrainian authorities to withdraw from the CIS Anti-Terrorist Centre only formalises the practice that has developed in recent years. Elena Panina, director of the RUSSTRAT Institute of International Political and Economic Strategies, told Izvestiya on Wednesday, February 16.
"On the one hand, such a decision only formalises the practice that has developed in recent years. On the other hand, the change in Ukraine's policy in the fight against terrorism is not limited to passive sabotage of joint activities within the CIS. The reality is that after the coup in 2014, the Kiev authorities turned Ukraine into a checkpoint for terrorists and extremists of all shades. Dozens of far-right militants, neo-Nazis, including from the United States and Western European countries, took part in the fighting in Donbass. Most of them are still in Ukraine," Panina said.
According to the expert, in addition to neo-Nazis, the current Ukrainian regime "welcomes" militant Islamists. As an example, the political scientist cited the fact that terrorists from the North Caucasus fought on the side of Kiev in Donbass. The Ukrainian authorities have deployed another line of support for Islamists in the Crimean direction, she added.
"As is said, there is no more place to put hallmarks on the Ukrainian authorities on the issue of supporting terrorists. And against this background, even their formal connection with the CIS Anti-Terrorist Centre looked absurd. Now, after the decision of the Verkhovna Rada, the formal side has been brought into line with the actual one," Panina stated.
The day before, the Verkhovna Rada voted for Ukraine's withdrawal from the Anti-Terrorist Centre of the CIS member states. 309 members of parliament voted in favour with the required minimum of 226 votes. The explanatory note notes that "the promotion of separatism and terrorism in the eastern region of Ukraine" grossly violates the rights and freedoms of citizens and leads to the death of civilians and military personnel. This has a negative impact on the political and economic situation in the country. The official document must be signed by the President of Ukraine Vladimir Zelensky.
In addition, the Verkhovna Rada voted for the country's withdrawal from the CIS agreement on the origin of goods.
On February 13, Mikhail Evdokimov, director of the first CIS department of the Russian Foreign Ministry, said that Kiev, if desired, could resume dialogue within the Commonwealth at any time. According to him, currently all partners still consider Ukraine a CIS member state. Evdokimov noted that Kiev had not received an official notification of its intention to withdraw from the CIS.
Ukraine is one of those countries that stood at the origins of the creation of the CIS in 1991. At the same time, it has not ratified the charter of the organisation developed in 1993. After the coup of 2014, the new leadership of the country announced its intention to break the agreements concluded within the CIS. In March 2020, the National Security and Defence Council of Ukraine decided to terminate the country's chairmanship in the CIS and begin withdrawing from the Commonwealth. Kiev has not been working in the statutory bodies of the organisation since 2018.