ABSTRACT
The Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) is founded on the basis of a treaty signed by the Russian Federation, Belarus, and Ukraine on December 8, 1991, in Minsk. The Russian Federation and North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) sign the Founding Act on Mutual Relations, Cooperation and Security. Centrasbat established under the auspices of NATO's PFP program, concludes its first peacekeeping exercise; United States and Russian military officials are in attendance. Little progress on peacekeeping in the CIS is achieved at the summit of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE) in Budapest. Lithuania is the first state of the former Soviet Union to join the Partnership for Peace framework (PFP) established by NATO. The European Union's Transport Corridor Europe-Caucasus-Asia program (TRACECA) is launched with the purpose of increasing regional trade between former Soviet republics.
