3 Commonwealth Leaders Will Skip Summit : Diplomacy: The viability of the 11-member alliance built on the wreckage of the Soviet Union is called into question.

MOSCOW — In a development that casts doubt on the success of an upcoming Commonwealth of Independent States summit and on the viability of the alliance itself, the leaders of at least three member nations have decided not to attend the meeting, officials said Wednesday.

Although the leaders, including Ukraine’s president, all cited benign reasons for their absence, their decisions to skip the meeting--scheduled seven weeks ago--clearly indicate the waning importance of the amorphous alliance built on the wreckage of the Soviet Union.

Meanwhile, in Kiev, the Ukrainian Parliament voted to annul a declaration of independence by the legislature of the Crimean Peninsula, which is part of Ukraine, and a scheduled referendum on independence.

These moves are expected to exacerbate tensions between Ukraine and Russia, the two largest and richest members of the Commonwealth, just two days before the scheduled summit in Tashkent, the capital of the Central Asian republic of Uzbekistan.

Commonwealth leaders are expected to debate how to divide up the property of the former Soviet Union and whether to retain the ruble as a common currency, and they are also expected to announce agreements to coordinate their mutual security and joint strategic armed forces.

It was not clear, however, whether any progress could be made on these issues without the participation of the leaders of three of the member states.

Late last year, 11 of the 15 Soviet republics joined the Commonwealth and put an end to the death throes of the Soviet Union. Dozens of agreements have been signed during four meetings among Russian President Boris N. Yeltsin and the leaders of the other 10 members of the Commonwealth, but the alliance has yet to establish a definite structure or a definable identity.

Disputes between the two most powerful leaders in the Commonwealth, Yeltsin and Ukrainian President Leonid Kravchuk, have flared frequently over issues such as the fate of the Black Sea Fleet, and the disputes threaten to push the Commonwealth toward the same fate as the Soviet Union.

While Yeltsin has repeatedly expressed his support for the Commonwealth as an essential structure to continue the close relationships between the republics, Kravchuk has called it a mere mechanism for divorce.

During the last meeting of the Commonwealth leaders, in March in Kiev, Kravchuk blew up because Yeltsin refused to even discuss sharing the Soviet Union’s property with other republics.

Since then, little progress has been made on disputes between the two big Slavic countries, and Kravchuk’s decision to snub the other Commonwealth leaders appears to reflect his frustration with the forum.

Kravchuk’s spokesman said the president could not attend the meeting because he will be hosting Finnish President Mauno Koivisto in Kiev. Prime Minister Vitold Folkin will head the Ukrainian delegation in his place.

The president of Kyrgyzstan, Askar Akayev, said he is committed to a visit to China, the coordinator of the Commonwealth working group, Ivan Korotchenya, told the Russian news agency Itar-Tass.

Moldovan President Mircea Snegur said he will stay home because of the continuing violence in his republic, Itar-Tass said. Tajik President Rakhman Nabiyev is also expected to miss the meeting because of recent bloodshed in his politically unstable country.

The absence of the crafty Ukrainian president, however, is the most serious blow to the gathering. Without his participation, according to Vladimir Shlyaposhnikov, Kravchuk’s spokesman, Ukraine will be limited in the types of agreements that it can make.

As in most of the former Soviet republics, the focus of attention in Ukraine has shifted inward, and one of the most controversial issues there today--both domestically and in its relations with Russia--is the fate of the Crimean Peninsula, which has a sizable Russian-speaking population.

Legislators voted to rule unconstitutional two decisions by the Crimea Parliament--one declaring the peninsula’s independence and another calling a referendum on independence for Aug. 2--and gave Crimean lawmakers a week to rescind them.

“We are talking about a region which could become explosive and which involves two great powers--Ukraine and Russia,” Kravchuk said in a speech before the Ukrainian Parliament on Wednesday. “During and after a referendum in the Crimea, there will be a serious increase in tension in the Crimea. We will all be responsible for the bloodshed.”

Russia gave the Crimea to Ukraine in 1954, but many Russian lawmakers and Russian Vice President Alexander Rutskoi have challenged Ukraine’s right to the prized resort land and the military bases on the peninsula.

The Crimea contains home ports for much of the giant Black Sea Fleet--the subject of hot debate between Russia and Ukraine.