BETTER SLOW FORWARD THAN FAST BACK

In St. Petersburg, Putin urged the CIS leaders to sign a treaty on a free trade zone before the end of 2010, calling it "quite a realistic goal." Putin offered to build this treaty on the principles of the World Trade Organization.

The next round of talks on the treaty is scheduled for Dec. 21, Interfax news agency reported.

The free trade zone is the first step in the creation of a full-fledged common economic bloc.

In this regard, the CIS follows the footprints of the European Union (EU), not because the CIS leaders emulate EU deliberately but due to the same logic, Zharchikhin said, recalling that the first attempts to create a post-Soviet free trade zone dated back to 1994.

"When the European Union bureaucracy in the early times attempted to integrate some countries on the fast track, it caused alienation. So CIS leaders learnt from this example and prefer to keep the bloc as a relatively loose cluster where each of its parts decides for itself how deep it likes to be involved," he said.

The integration process in the CIS cannot be simple due to strikingly different shapes of political and economic models of its member states. However, the economic and geopolitical logic is such that all its countries have no choice but to pull together, the expert told Xinhua.

GOOD FOR PEOPLE

In the meeting, Putin also urged the deepening of cooperation in the areas of science and innovation.

CIS heads of government announced 2011 the Historical Heritage Year, when common history studies as well as 150 other humanity-related events would be organized for school classes in all CIS countries.

"This is a remarkable decision. Leaders finally realized that successful economy, in the long run, is based on successful and happy people, on their positive emotions and feelings," said Yatsenko, the expert at Eurasia Heritage think tank.

"CIS countries share the same ethnic groups, as post-Soviet space is an inseparable mix of various languages and cultures. Times of frantic ties-cutting are over," Yatsenko said.