Meeting of CIS leaders: What statements did the leaders make?

Trade between Russia and the member states of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) exceeded $110 billion in 2025 and continued to grow in 2026, Russian President Vladimir Putin said at a restricted-format meeting of CIS leaders.

"The work is underway. Notably, at the end of 2025, trade between Russia and CIS member states exceeded $110 billion, and in the first half of the current year, it grew by another 19%," Putin said.

According to him, the CIS can achieve much greater success if it follows the path of removing trade barriers.

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, speaking at the meeting of the CIS Council of Heads of State in a restricted format, stated that the potential of the Commonwealth is far from exhausted.

President Ilham Aliyev announced that Azerbaijan is ready to assume the CIS chairmanship in 2028 and organize a meeting of the CIS Council of Heads of State in the autumn of that year.

In his speech, President Serdar Berdimuhamedov of Turkmenistan emphasized that trade and economic ties between CIS countries are developing steadily, with a positive dynamic observed in overall trade turnover in recent years.