MOSCOW- Russian PresidentVladimir Putinwon praise from leaders of former Soviet republics on Tuesday, May 15 and called for closer integration among the now-independent states on ce ruled byMoscow.
He pointedly decided to snub aG8summit in the United States this weekend and instead made the one-day conference of post-Soviet leaders the first meeting with foreign heads of state of his new presidential term.
Putin, who once called the 1991 breakup of theSoviet Union"the greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the 20th century", called for more robust cooperation among members of regional alliances.
At meetings of theCommonwealth of Independent StatesandCollective Security Treaty Organisation, two organisations that group much of former the USSR, Putin hosted his first major event as president, taking advice from some of the longest serving autocrats of the post-Soviet world.
"Some people, I think, don’t quite understand that a period of change is taking place in the world, andRussiashould have a status the others have to reckon with," Uzbek President Islam Karimov told Putin in the Kremlin.
Putin has been facing the biggest protests against his 12 years in power, culminating in clashes with police the day before his inauguration.
TURBULENCE
Karimov, who has ruled for more than 20 years, said strong leaders like Putin were needed in turbulent times. Witnesses say hundreds were killed inUzbekistanin 2005 during a government crackdown on an uprising.
"When hard times are coming, it can happen that any political disturbances, and any election is a disturbance, can unfold not quite in line with the planned scenario," Karimov told Putin.
Kazakh PresidentNursultan Nazarbayev, also in power for over 20 years, evoked memories of the Soviet past, mentioning such mega-projects as the Baikal Amur Mainline railroad.
"I rememberthe Soviet times… Every republic took part in building (the railroad). Everyone had its own section. It fell into decay since, but what if we revive it, make it serveRussia?" Nazarbayev said.
Putin unexpectedly pulled out of a summit of the mostly WesternGroup of Eightnations in theUnited Statesthis weekend sending Prime MinisterDmitry Medvedevin his place and saying he needed to work on formation of the new government.
A decree issued hours after his swearing-in called for closer integration of the ex-Soviet space a "key foreign policy direction" and reiterated plans for aEurasian Economic Union, based on aCustoms UnionwithKazakhstanandBelarus.
The real prize for Putin would beUkraine, which has sought to balance relations betweenMoscowand theEuropean Union.
Putin made a fresh pitch toUkrainein a meeting with PresidentViktor Yanukovich, whose government’s jailing of opposition leaderYulia Tymoshenkohas caused a serious rift withEurope.
"For us to be stronger – you know my position – it is necessary to achieve a higher degree of integration," Putin told Yanukovich. "Which is of course, a sovereign choice of our partners.
