Poroshenko starts Ukraine’s official withdrawal from CIS, wants to change Russia treaty

President Petro Poroshenko said Thursday that Ukraine must officially terminate its participation in the statutory bodies of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) that comprises former Soviet republics. Speaking at the opening of the 11th Kiev Security Forum, he said that “Ukraine has never been and is not a member of the CIS.” He asked the government to elaborate proposals for the official termination of the participation in the statutory bodies of the CIS and for the final closure of the Ukrainian office within the relevant institutions in Minsk. Poroshenko also wants Ukraine to partially withdraw from its 1997 friendship agreement with Russia.