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The meeting was attended by Vladimir Putin, 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 Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon, President of Turkmenistan Serdar Berdimuhamedov, and President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev.

Later, Vladimir Putin held separate bilateral meetings with the heads of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.

Before the informal summit, the participants visited the Pavlovsk, Tsarskoye Selo, and Peterhof state museum reserves.

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President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Colleagues, friends,

Allow me to start. First, I would like to thank you for accepting the invitation to come to St Petersburg for this informal meeting of the leaders of the member states of the Commonwealth of Independent States. Every year, we meet in this close circle, and this has already become a good tradition.

These meetings offer a very good opportunity to review CIS activities, talk about plans for the future and, of course, discuss urgent international issues. I noticed that even during these historical excursions, walking from one hall to another, each of us, including me, talked in detail about current bilateral and multilateral issues and exchanged views on international affairs. So, it is possible to say that in general we have been talking with each other all day, and our communication is very productive.

It would be no exaggeration to say that the outgoing year was exceptionally active and intense for the CIS. It was filled with large events and impressive initiatives. Credit for this largely goes to our friends from Kyrgyzstan, and in this context, I would like to thank Mr Japarov for all the work done during Kyrgyzstan’s chairmanship of our organisation.

In the new year, the CIS chairmanship will go to Russia. As I said at the CIS summit in Bishkek, we are planning to continue our 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. That said, we are willing to consider additional ideas and suggestions from our partners in the CIS.

Naturally, we will discuss in detail our efforts to further strengthen economic cooperation within the CIS. Trade between our countries has been growing steadily this year. As of the past 10 months, it grew by two percent compared to the same period a year ago to constitute US$83.7 billion.

In June, an agreement on free trade in services and investment was signed between the CIS members. We intend to continue to take action to harmonise the legal framework of the CIS and the EAEU, which we discussed with our colleagues yesterday at a meeting of the Supreme Eurasian Council.

We will continue to work with our CIS partners to be more active in switching to national currencies in mutual settlements. We are certain this will allow us to more reliably ensure the economic and financial sovereignty of our countries. Acting in a constructive manner, we will try to line up our efforts in order to maintain security and stability in our common Eurasian region, and to combat terrorism, extremism, cross-border crime, as well as drug trafficking and corruption.

Cultural and humanitarian interaction relying on our centuries-old common history and deep intertwining of cultures is another critical area and an important component of the CIS partnership. It is no accident that today we took a historical tour of our once single state. I am aware that the President of Kazakhstan has prepared some information on this matter. We will discuss it in private later and certainly listen to what our colleague has to say.

Close cooperation among the CIS members continues to enjoy high demand, especially in matters of combating attempts to falsify history and glorify Nazism. That is why we believe we should continue to hold landmark events in memory of the soldiers who gave their lives during the Great Patriotic War such as the Immortal Regiment, St George's Ribbon, and the Memory Train. We will take a closer look at the historical context of ties between our countries and peoples during our informal discussions later.

Importantly, at the initiative of Mr Tokayev, an agreement on establishing an international organisation for the Russian language was signed at the Bishkek summit on October 13. Headquartered in Sochi, this entity is designed to support and promote the Russian language in the CIS and beyond. Everyone involved in drafting this document, this treaty, agreed that the Russian language was the critical consolidating element in the post-Soviet space and the key to mutual understanding and free communication for hundreds of millions of people in the CIS countries.

Humanitarian cooperation is unfolding progressively and with much success. As you may be aware, St Petersburg was the cultural capital of the CIS in 2023. We decided that next year the baton will pass to ancient Samarkand, Uzbekistan.

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. We count on a favourable reaction and invite all CIS countries to take part in the implementation of these projects. I am sure that it will be exciting, enlightening and beneficial for the peoples of all our countries.

Physical fitness and sport are an integral part of humanitarian cooperation as well. I would like to thank our Belarusian colleagues for successfully hosting the second Commonwealth Games in Belarus in August. In February 2024, Kazan will host the innovative Games of the Future. This is a new format of sporting events proposed by Russia, which combines the most dynamic sports disciplines with cybersport. I would like to invite all of you as guests of honour to attend the ceremony for opening the Games of the Future in Kazan on February 21, 2024.

The World Youth Festival in Sochi to be held on March 1–7, 2024, will come as another major international event. We expect young people from more than 180 countries, including the CIS countries, to attend it.

I would like to conclude by reiterating that the Russian chairmanship prioritises preserving and strengthening close ties between our peoples and advancing friendship and neighbourliness throughout the CIS. Considering this, we are committed to working together as a tightly knit team.

Of course, I would like to wish all of you a Happy New Year, and wish you, your families and friends, and everyone in the CIS, good health, happiness, peace, and prosperity.

Thank you.