The president of Russia and Ukraine did not hold talks Friday at the summit of a Moscow-dominated alliance of former Soviet states, underscoring the tensions between both countries.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has publicly blamed Ukrainian counterpart Viktor Yushchenko for conducting what he believes is an anti-Russia policy.
Medvedev will meet with other presidents of former Soviet states at the two-day summit in the Moldovan capital but no talks were scheduled with Yushchenko, said Natalya Timakova, spokeswoman for the Russian leader.
The Commonwealth of Independent States was formed in the dying days of the Soviet Union as a loose alliance. It has taken little definitive action and is seen largely as a way for Russia to try to exert regional influence.
Medvedev met Moldovan interim President Mihai Ghimpu and said Russia was interested in maintaining close relations with Moldova, which elected a pro-European government in July after eight years of Communist Party rule.
Ghimpu said Moldova wanted close ties with Russia and to increase trade. Moldova relies on Russian gas and Russia is its main market for exports. Moldova's Parliament will vote for a president in coming weeks and Medvedev met presidential candidate Marian Lupu on Friday.
At the end of the summit, officials agreed to set up a collective security system on the external borders of the alliance, and to co-ordinate efforts to fight organized crime, illegal immigration, smuggling and drug trafficking, the Russian Interfax news agency reported without providing further details.
Presidents Serge Sarkisian of Armenia and Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan met to discuss a solution to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. The summit began with a meeting of foreign ministers from the alliance.
Issues being discussed include strengthening security, and cooperation in joint border and migration policies, Russia's foreign ministry said.
The presidents of the Central Asian nations of Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan will not attend and their countries will represented by lower-level officials.
Georgia withdrew from the alliance in August after a war broke out in 2008 with Russia. Georgia says the five-day war started with a Russian invasion of the separatist region of South Ossetia and that Russia aimed to regain control of Georgia. Russia says the fighting started with a Georgian assault.
