(Xinhua) - Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili said here Wednesday that his government would not rule out the possibility of withdrawing from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), a bloc consisting of ex-Soviet states.
As a forum, the CIS had lost its goal, Saakashvili said.
"We have to sit down and consider, if it is worth us remaining members in the CIS," said the president, adding that he believed his government would come to a decision that benefits the Georgian people, reports Trend.
Saakashvili noted that although his country had signed free trade agreements
with most other CIS members, trade blockades remained a serious problem between Georgia and Russia.
The relationship between the Caucasus country and Russia has deteriorated in recent months, which Georgia has attributed to Russia's decision to raise the price of Russian gas exports and its ban on imports of Georgian wines and spirits.
On the prospects of the bilateral relations, Saakashvili said he believed they were unlikely to continue to deteriorate. But what mattered is there should be no provocation and military pressure, he added.
The Georgian president is in here for a regional summit of Black Sea and Baltic countries, scheduled for Thursday.