Putin Warns of Potential Attempts to Obstruct CIS Integration


TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Russian President Vladimir Putin does not rule out that the integration processes in the CIS (the Commonwealth of Independent States, an assembly of post-Soviet republics) may be hindered from outside.

"Integration processes are underway in the commonwealth. The amount and intensity of trade, investment, financial and transport flows are growing," Putin said at a meeting with the chiefs of the CIS member countries’ security and intelligence agencies on Wednesday, TASS reported.

"We should understand that this constructive work, our use of competitive advantages and the unification of potential for solving common problems induce unequivocal response, including the desire to hinder and trip (us) up," the Russian president warned.

Therefore, in his opinion, the CIS countries’ intelligence agencies "should, as before, make their contributions to the protection of the Commonwealth’s economic interests, to team up to enhance its competitiveness and further dynamic development, to protect the legal rights of entrepreneurs and companies.".