Georgia starts consultations with Ukraine on quitting CIS

TBILISI, May 7 (RIA Novosti) - Georgia has started consultations with Ukraine on their withdrawal from the Commonwealth of Independent States, the Georgian foreign minister said Sunday.

"We have already started consultations with Ukraine on withdrawal from the CIS. We recently discussed with a group of Ukrainian representatives in Tbilisi the entire range of our relations with the CIS and the benefits, if any, of our countries' stay within the organization," Gela Bezhuashvili said.

The Georgian foreign minister also said the Georgian government was considering possible consequences of withdrawal from the CIS.

The government of Russia said Sunday it was considering canceling benefits for Georgia and Ukraine, if they decided to withdraw from the Commonwealth of Independent States.

"In the wake of statements made by the leaders of Georgia and Ukraine about the possibility of their withdrawal from the CIS, the government of Russia is considering canceling a number of benefits, which these states enjoy within the CIS," a government source said.

"No doubt, in this case Russia will review many agreements and accords concluded within the CIS, including in the social sphere," the source said.