Moscow, December 18 – Russian President Vladimir Putin has announced his intention to hold an informal meeting with the heads of CIS countries in St. Petersburg at the end of December. In his address to the participants of the Council of Heads of Government of the Commonwealth of Independent States, Putin extended warm greetings to the leaders of the member states and expressed his anticipation to meet them soon. He mentioned that the meeting would take place during the session of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council and the traditional informal gathering of CIS leaders in St. Petersburg.
Putin reminded everyone that Russia will assume the chairmanship of the CIS on January 1 and plans to continue and expand joint activities in various fields such as art, education, and science. He emphasized the encouragement of film and television projects, the organization of classical and popular music competitions. Additionally, Russia has put forth several initiatives including the establishment of the Eurasian Academy of Cinematic Arts, the creation of the Eurasian Film Award, and the revival of the international song festival “Intervision”.
During its chairmanship, Russia will also pay special attention to the preservation of the Russian language. As reported by the Secretary General of the CIS, Sergey Lebedev, the informal summit will take place on December 26 in St. Petersburg. Such a meeting has already become a tradition. According to Lebedev, Putin has invited his colleagues to the summit in order to “communicate in an informal setting, discuss relevant issues, and exchange opinions.”
