Uzbek TV
Novemebr 29
he CIS has failed to meet the objectives it set itself 10 years ago, Uzbek
President Islam Karimov has said. Speaking in an airport interview on 29
November prior to his departure for Moscow to take part in the CIS jubilee
summit, Karimov said that "serious mistakes" had been made but that it was
not too late to get back on track. He also repeated his view that CIS
countries should abandon the idea of setting up military or political blocs
on the territory of the former Soviet Union.
President Karimov: "Another point is how the organization worked during these 10 years. Did the organization manage to implement the objectives it set itself? What were the mistakes? How is the organization meeting its 10th anniversary?
"I would like to repeat that when the economy is the basis of relations, political, humanitarian and other issues will find their solutions. While in the CIS, things went in completely the opposite direction. The economy was sidelined, borders were tightened and discussion was mostly of military issues. A large number of resolutions were passed to no avail. The resolutions were aimed at helping people. One can talk a great deal about this. But I would like to repeat that serious mistakes were committed.
"Third: When speaking about the future of the CIS, I have to say that even now, it is not too late. I would like to repeat that it is not too late to correct the mistakes. It is not too late to get a grip on things and follow the right path, the path of truth. I would like to repeat that we should learn from the lessons implicit in the negative experience we have accumulated over these 10 years. We should outline our future steps and new objectives with due regard for these lessons.
"In tackling this issue I would like to draw your attention to the following three points:
"The first point is that we should discard the idea of setting up a political and military bloc on the territory of the former Soviet Union. One should not seek out an enemy for oneself. Whether it be NATO or any other bloc, one should not seek out enemies. We should think about our future jointly with the world community. When setting up blocs one should think against whom these military or political blocs are targeted. The mere mention of the word "against" is associated with a fight, with military operations in the future. Such expressions are not for us at all. Of course there are enemies. Of course there are some people who look at us with bad intentions. There are many threats to our country. But I think that our main policy should be directed not towards creating military blocs but towards finding solutions through talks."