Russian President Vladimir Putin began a two-day working visit to Turkmenistan on October 8–9, where he will take part in a meeting of the Council of CIS Heads and the Caspian Environmental Summit.
The summit of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) in Turkmenistan will be held in the anniversary year for the commonwealth - in December it will be 35 years since the formation of this association. As Russian Presidential Assistant Yuri Ushakov previously noted, this is an important historical milestone for the CIS, which over the years of its work has established itself as an authoritative regional integration association. In addition, Moscow emphasized that strengthening ties in the CIS space is a priority direction of Russian foreign policy. According to the presidential aide, Russia aims to further increase interaction with CIS partners in political, economic, cultural, humanitarian, law enforcement and other spheres.
In 2025, Russia’s trade turnover with its CIS partners exceeded $110 billion, and in the first half of this year it added another 12%. As noted in the Kremlin, a stable financial infrastructure independent of external influence has been built in the commonwealth space. Almost all mutual settlements are carried out in national currencies, their share in commercial transactions between countries exceeds 90%, the assistant to the President of the Russian Federation cited data. In addition, large industrial and infrastructure projects are being implemented in the area of the association, new Eurasian production and transport chains are being formed, and the North-South and East-West logistics corridors are being modernized and developed.
Leaders of nine Commonwealth countries will come directly to the summit. In addition to the Presidents of Russia and Turkmenistan Vladimir Putin and Serdar Berdimuhamedov, the summit will be attended by President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan, President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko, President of Kyrgyzstan Sadyr Japarov, President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, President of Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon, President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev. In addition, for the first time in the history of the CIS, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian was invited to an expanded meeting of the summit.
The CIS summit program will begin on Thursday, October 8. On the first day, the heads of delegations will jointly visit the festival of national dishes of the CIS countries, in the evening there will be an official reception in honor of the heads of delegations on behalf of the President of Turkmenistan.
The summit's work program starts on Friday, December 9. First, the leaders will gather in a narrow format. They will exchange views on interaction within the CIS, discuss the chairmanship of the CIS in 2027, which will be transferred to Uzbekistan, and the holding of the next meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the CIS. Then the conversation between the leaders will continue in an expanded format, during which the CIS leaders will hear a number of reports. Following the summit, a statement by the heads of the CIS member states will be adopted in connection with the 35th anniversary of the formation of the commonwealth.
In addition, as Ushakov noted earlier, the leaders can discuss any topics during a closed meeting, including the possibility that Putin, at the request of the leaders, will inform about the current situation in the Ukrainian conflict.
Putin's work program in Turkmenistan will continue on Friday with the Caspian environmental summit. The leaders of all five Caspian states will take part in it - in addition to Putin, speeches are expected from Berdimuhamedov, Pezeshkian, Tokayev and Aliyev.
Russia attaches great importance to maintaining peace, stability and security in the Caspian region, its sustainable development on the principles of good neighborliness and cooperation, the Kremlin noted. Participants at the upcoming summit plan to discuss cooperation between coastal countries in the environmental sector.
At the summit, special attention will be paid to the problem of shallowing the Caspian Sea. The water level in the sea is characterized by cyclicity, fluctuations reach several meters per decade. Russian experts see the cyclical fluctuations in water levels mainly as a climatic factor, which leads to a decrease in the volume of water entering the Caspian Sea and increased evaporation.
It is expected that the summit participants will discuss a set of measures to preserve the fragile ecosystem of the Caspian Sea and mitigate the consequences of shallowing for the countries of the region. Following the meeting, a declaration of the Caspian Environmental Summit will be adopted.
On the first day of his visit to Turkmenistan, Putin will hold a bilateral meeting with Berdimuhamedov.
Moscow and Ashgabat are developing relations based on the principles of good neighborliness and mutual understanding, in line with in-depth strategic cooperation. As noted in the Kremlin, the peoples of Russia and Turkmenistan are brought together by long-standing close economic, cultural and humanitarian ties, common historical memory, and commitment to traditional spiritual and moral values. The countries are also developing trade and economic cooperation. In 2025, trade turnover increased by 27.5%, to $946.7 million.
Active work is underway on the cultural and humanitarian track, about 58 thousand Turkmen students are studying in Russia, and the countries are planning to open a Russian-Turkmen University in Ashgabat.
On the sidelines of the summits in Turkmenistan, Putin also plans to hold a bilateral meeting with Pezeshkian. The leaders intend to discuss issues of developing bilateral cooperation. In addition, it is expected that Putin and Pezeshkian will touch upon the situation in the Middle East region during the upcoming meeting.
The last meeting of the presidents took place in early September in Bishkek on the sidelines of the SCO summit. Then Putin noted that Russia stands in solidarity with the Iranian people and admires their courage and perseverance in the fight for their national interests.
