TURKMENBASY /Turkmenistan/, October 9. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin and other leaders of the Commonwealth of Independent States are participating in the CIS Council of Heads of State in Turkmenistan’s Awaza national tourist zone on the Caspian coast.

Turkmenistan’s President Serdar Berdimuhamedov opened the meeting. In addition to Putin, the summit was attended by Azerbaijani leader Ilham Aliyev, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, Belarusian head of state Alexander Lukashenko, his Kyrgyz counterpart Sadyr Japarov, Tajik head of state Emomali Rahmon, Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, and Uzbek leader Shavkat Mirziyoyev.

The meeting will continue later in an expanded format, with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian joining the CIS leaders for the first time.

The summit agenda includes about fifteen items. Following the meeting, the heads of state plan to adopt a joint statement assessing the CIS’s achievements over the past 35 years and outlining the organization’s future prospects.

In addition, the leaders plan to approve several documents on partnership in the fight against cybercrime, as well as a set of measures to foster a positive image of the CIS and to organize thematic years dedicated to social development, quality of life, and transportation connectivity.