30 Years to Commonwealth of Independent States

An agreement that changed the course of history and the lives of hundreds of millions of people. The document that ended the existence of the Soviet Union was signed in Viskuli on this day 30 years ago.

It marked the beginning of the Commonwealth of Independent States. It became the line, which helped the countries to maintain ties and reach a new level of integration. The President of Belarus, the Chairman of the CIS Council of Heads of State Alexander Lukashenko has congratulated the leaders of the Commonwealth and the Chairman of the CIS Executive Committee, CIS Executive Secretary Sergei Lebedev on the 30th anniversary of the organization.

L. Anfimov: CIS is the union of sovereign states, where decisions are made by consensus

Economy is the key issue of Belarus' interests in the CIS. Successful interaction is promoted in such fields as energy, transport, trade, industry and development of innovations in the market of 280 million people. All the initiatives have a common idea: deep and productive integration.

We take for granted a simplified procedure for mutual travel of citizens, mutual recognition of education documents, the ability to receive pensions when moving, to count on free emergency care. But all these agreements are made within the framework of the CIS.