A meeting of the leaders of the Commonwealth of Independent States was held in Russia
A meeting of the leaders of the Commonwealth of Independent States was held in Russia
An informal summit was held in the Leningrad Region of Russia with the participation of the leaders of the member states of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS).
According to the Kremlin Palace, the informal summit was attended by President of Russia Vladimir Putin and President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko, as well as President of Kazakhstan Kassym Jomart Tokayev, President of Kyrgyzstan Sadyr Japarov, President of Tajikistan Emomali Rahman, President of Turkmenistan Serdar Berdimuhamedov and President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev.
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev canceled his visit to Russia and returned to his country due to the crash of an Azerbaijani Airlines (AZAL) passenger plane near the city of Aktau in Kazakhstan. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan also did not attend the summit due to infection with Covid-19.
"I express my condolences to the relatives of those killed in the plane crash"
In a statement at the beginning of the meeting, Putin said that the crash of an Embraer 190 aircraft operated by AZAL, which was flying from Baku to Grozny, near Aktau, was a "tragedy" and said: "I express my condolences to the families of the victims. We hope that the injured will recover."
Noting that a plane belonging to the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations with medical teams and necessary equipment was sent to Aktau, Putin said: "Of course, I am sure that a comprehensive investigation process will be conducted into the incident. We will coordinate the work of our aviation services on this tragedy."
Speaking about the relations between the CIS countries, Putin said: "Deepening our cooperation within the CIS in all areas meets the fundamental interests of the peoples of our countries. In the future, we will continue to work together on issues related to social, economic development, security and stabilization."
Putin said that during the meeting with the leaders they would discuss work within the CIS.