DUSHANBE, October 29, 2012, Asia-Plus — A summit of leaders of member nations f the Commonwealth of Independent State (CSI) scheduled for the start of November has been postponed, an official said on Friday, amid talk that Russian President Vladimir Putin is suffering from back trouble.
The Executive Committee of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), a loose group created as the Soviet Union broke apart in 1991, said earlier this month the summit was due to take place in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan on November 2.
According to the CIS spokeswoman Vera Yakuboskaya, the new dates are being confirmed. “They are being agreed with all the presidents,” she said.
Meanwhile, some media outlets report that that the CIS summit has been postponed amid worries over Russian President Vladimir Putin’s health.
The Kremlin dismissed talk that Putin had been sidelined from foreign trips after government sources told Reuters he was suffering from back trouble that could require surgery.
The sources said the Russian leader”s schedule was being cleared for early November, including the postponement until late December of a trip to India that had been expected soon.
Reuters reports that speculation increased when Putin failed to travel to Pakistan for a four-nation summit on Afghanistan this month or to make an expected trip to Turkey. None of these trips had been officially announced by the Kremlin.
