Putin arrives at informal summit of CIS leaders

Russian President Vladimir Putin has arrived at an informal summit of CIS leaders. This was reported by the Izvestiya correspondent on December 25.

The informal meeting of the CIS leaders will be held at the Igora resort complex in the Leningrad region. The summit of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) will be held there on December 26.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on the eve of December 25 that the CIS summit has no program, as it is informal. The leaders of the states will exchange views on topical issues, such a meeting is held every year, he reminded. Peskov also explained to Izvestia the choice of the resort complex as a venue for official events by the head of state's desire to show his colleagues various interesting and unique places in Russia.

Earlier, on December 19, Artur Taymazov, a member of the State Duma Committee on CIS Affairs, Eurasian Integration and Relations with Compatriots, told Izvestia that the planned informal summit of CIS leaders and the meeting of the Eurasian Economic Union have serious political weight. These meetings may raise issues of settlements in national currency, food security, defense of sovereignty and others, he specified.