CIS summit begins in Dushanbe

Today, October 10, a meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) is taking place at the Millat Palace in Dushanbe, the capital of Tajikistan.

The summit of CIS leaders began with a closed-door meeting, preceded by an official welcoming ceremony and a group photo.

The following leaders are participating in the meeting:

•  Russian President Vladimir Putin
•  Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev
•  Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan
•  Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko
•  Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev
•  Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov
•  Tajik President Emomali Rahmon
•  Turkmen President Serdar Berdimuhamedov
•  Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev
•  CIS Secretary General Sergei Lebedev

At the summit, the heads of state are discussing the creation of a new format called “CIS+,” which is expected to include third countries. A similar system operates within the BRICS and SCO frameworks.

In his speech, Vladimir Putin invited the CIS leaders to attend an informal meeting in St. Petersburg, which is traditionally held at the end of December. The exact date has not yet been determined.

It is worth noting that yesterday, October 9, the second summit in the “Central Asia – Russia” format was held in Dushanbe. In the evening, Tajik President Emomali Rahmon hosted a reception in honor of the distinguished guests.