ISTANBUL 

Eurasian leaders on Friday signed a document on creating an expanded format of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) during a summit in the Tajik capital Dushanbe.

According to a Kremlin statement, a total of 19 documents were signed following a meeting of the CIS Heads of State Council in Dushanbe, including decisions on establishing a “CIS Plus” format, and giving the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) observer status within the organization.

The Russia-led CIS is a regional organization formed after the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 by its former members to promote cooperation in economic, political, and security affairs.

It includes Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan as full members, while Turkmenistan is the organization’s sole associate member. However, Moldova suspended its participation in CIS meetings in 2022.

Russian President Vladimir Putin was among the leaders who attended the restricted-format meeting in Dushanbe, where he expressed Moscow’s support for the decision to establish the “CIS Plus” format.

“This will allow us to more actively engage other states and international organizations in the Commonwealth with our organization,” Putin said, according to a Kremlin transcript, noting Russia’s support for deepening contacts between the CIS and the SCO.

Putin wished Turkmenistan success in its upcoming chairmanship in the CIS in 2026, and invited leaders at the Dushanbe summit to a traditional informal meeting of the organization in St. Petersburg at the end of the year.

He also said that he exchanged information with some of his counterparts with regard to his summit in Alaska with US President Donald Trump in August, calling the results of the summit “positive.”

“We will certainly base our subsequent work on resolving the conflict in Ukraine on the fundamental principles we discussed in Alaska,” he added.

Putin arrived in Dushanbe on a three-day state visit late Wednesday, where he held talks with counterparts and attended the second Russia-Central Asia summit on Thursday.