MOSCOW, October 9 (HS/RIA Novosti) - Russian President Vladimir Putin’s working program in Turkmenistan continues on Friday, he will attend a meeting of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) Council of Heads of State and the Caspian Environmental Summit at the Avaza national tourist zone on the eastern coast of the Caspian Sea.

Putin arrived in Turkmenistan for a two-day working visit on Thursday.

The summit’s program begins with a narrow-format meeting. The leaders are expected to exchange views on cooperation within the CIS, discuss the 2027 CIS chairmanship, which is set to pass to Uzbekistan, and the scheduling of the next meeting of the Council of CIS Heads of State.

The heads of delegations will continue their discussions in an expanded format, during which the CIS leaders will hear a series of reports. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian will participate in the summit for the first time.

Following the summit, a statement by the CIS heads of state regarding the 35th anniversary of the CIS formation will be adopted.

The CIS is a loose association of former Soviet republics.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Indrani Sarkar