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CIS leaders ended the first day of the summit with an informal dinner at the Dagomys hotel.

Before the dinner, Mr Putin met with Russian journalists. Summing up the results of the first day of the informal summit of CIS leaders, President Putin said that this kind of meeting could be more effective than official negotiations.

Mr Putin emphasised that the Russian economy was growing along with the economies of CIS countries. This, according to the Russian President, required further coordination of efforts in the fields of industrial development, foreign policy, defence and security.

President Putin reminded everyone present that relations with CIS countries were the main priority for Russian foreign policy. There are more than 20 million Russian people residing on the territory of the former USSR, and a lot in their destiny will depend on how we build relations between our countries, Mr Putin said.