An informal meeting of the leaders of the CIS member countries took place at the Konstantin Palace in St. Petersburg on December 26.
The meeting was attended by President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan, President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko, President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, President of Kyrgyzstan Sadyr Japarov, President of Russia Vladimir Putin, President of Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon, President of Turkmenistan Serdar Berdimuhamedov, and President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev.
Before the informal summit, the participants visited the Pavlovsk, Tsarskoye Selo, and Peterhof state museum reserves.
The Tajik president’s official website says the parties discussed the current state and prospects of further expansion of cooperation in the framework of the CIS.
In this context, the issues of strengthening the political dialogue within the framework of the CIS, as well as the further development of cooperation between the participating countries in the economic, cultural, humanitarian and security spheres, were identified as daily tasks.
The meeting participants reportedly also exchanged on a number of regional and international issues being of mutual interest.
Meanwhile, the Kremlin says that speaking at the meeting, Russian President Putin noted that “every year, we meet in this close circle, and this has already become a good tradition.”
According to him, these meetings offer a very good opportunity to review CIS activities, talk about plans for the future and, of course, discuss urgent international issues.
In 2024, the CIS chairmanship will go to Russia, and Putin said that they are planning to continue their multifaceted integration activity in the spirit of continuity. “Russia has already presented a concept for its chairmanship and an action plan for its implementation, which includes about 150 items,” said Putin. “That said, we are willing to consider additional ideas and suggestions from our partners in the CIS.”
He noted that over the past ten months of this year, trade between the CIS countries has increased by 2.0 percent compared to the same period last year to constitute US$83.7 billion.
“I would also like to remind you of Russia’s ideas to establish the Eurasian Academy of Film Arts and the Eurasian Film Award, and to revive the Intervision popular song contest,” Putin said, noting that physical fitness and sport are an integral part of humanitarian cooperation as well.
Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov called the summit "undoubtedly successful," saying it provided the leaders with a very important opportunity to communicate in an informal setting
According to him, CIS leaders have compared their views on pressing international issues
TASS reports that after the informal summit, Putin held separate bilateral meetings with the Kazakh and Uzbek presidents.
The CIS covers much of the former Soviet Union, including as full members Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, and Moldova, as well as Turkmenistan as an “associate.”
Ukraine, which participated in the CIS since its inception, never actually ratified its charter – disagreeing with the document’s positioning of Russia as the only legal successor state to the Soviet Union. Kyiv ceased its participation in the statutory bodies of the CIS in 2018 although it remains a member of the Commonwealth of Independent States Free Trade Area. To fully terminate its relationship with the CIS, Ukraine would need to legally withdraw from the Creation Agreement, which it has not done.
It is to be noted that Moldova is also distancing itself from the CIS, but leaving is might not be so easy.
