Informal summit of CIS heads of state

Attending the meeting were President of Russia Vladimir Putin, President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev Aliyev IlhamPresident of Azerbaijan, Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan Pashinyan NikolPrime Minister of the Republic of Armenia, President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko Lukashenko AlexanderPresident of Belarus, President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev Tokayev Kassym-JomartPresident of the Republic of Kazakhstan, President of Kyrgyzstan Sadyr Japarov Japarov SadyrPresident of the Kyrgyz Republic, President of Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon Rahmon EmomaliPresident of Tajikistan, President of Turkmenistan Serdar Berdimuhamedov Berdimuhamedov SerdarPresident of Turkmenistanand President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev Mirziyoyev ShavkatPresident of Uzbekistan.

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President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Colleagues, friends,

First of all, I would like to thank you all for accepting the invitation and coming to St Petersburg for the informal meeting of the heads of state of members of the Commonwealth of Independent States, which we traditionally hold ahead of New Year.

I believe the fact that we once again gathered in such a friendly circle shows eloquently our desire to further build cooperation in the CIS space together, in the spirit of a true strategic partnership, mutual benefit and respect for the interests of all countries.

Therefore, today I propose that we sum up together the work of the Commonwealth of Independent States in 2022, talk about plans for the future and, of course, discuss issues of concern to all of us on the regional and international agenda.

This year the multifaceted interaction of our states has been developing successfully on the whole. This confirms the steady growth of trade among us and between Russia and all CIS countries.

To be continued.