An informal summit of CIS leaders has begun in St. Petersburg

According to Kommersant, the meeting is being held at the invitation of Russian President Vladimir Putin, who believes that holding the summit "in a friendly circle" indicates the desire of the countries to develop cooperation. Among the areas of partnership expansion is an increase in the volume of settlements in national currencies, as well as an increase in trade turnover between Russia and all CIS countries.

"Unfortunately, we have to admit that there are also disagreements between the member states of the Commonwealth. The main thing, however, is that we are ready and will cooperate," the publication quotes the words of the President of the Russian Federation.

Earlier it was reported that Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan will participate in the meeting, but there are no plans for trilateral talks between them at this event with the participation of Russia.

Along with Russia, Armenia and Azerbaijan, the CIS also includes Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Turkmenistan is also an associate member of the organization. After the events of 2014, Ukraine announced its withdrawal from the CIS.