Impediments to Integration among CIS Members

The Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) was established by the Russian Federation, Ukraine and Belorussia in December 1991. The goals of this organization are the expansion of friendly relationship and cooperation among member states, good neighbourliness as well as mutual understanding and trust. This organization is one of the most important regional organizations in the Central Asia and the Caucasus. It has arranged many gatherings and conferences in the region, and many agreements and documents have been signed by the leaders of member states. However, its goals have not yet been achieved. The aim of the authors in this article is to examine the impediment to integration among CIS members. For this purpose, four factors are analysed, namely, the newly independent states’ fear of the revival of Russian influence, separatist trends, territorial disputes, and Russia-US rivalry in the region. The authors employ a descriptive-analytical approach to show which factors have prevented integration among the members of this organization.