Russian Leaders Meet in Leningrad Region, Emphasizing Economic Cooperation and Regional Integration
Russian President Vladimir Putin praised the economic achievements of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) at a recent informal summit in the Leningrad region, Russia. The meeting brought together the leaders of Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan to review the previous year’s results and plan for the next 12 months.
Putin highlighted the growth of trade between Russia and CIS member states, with a 10.6% increase in trade from January to October, reaching $93 billion. He also emphasized the expansion of cooperation in the financial and monetary sectors.
Moscow is aware of the importance of building partnership relations with CIS member states, many of which are also members of the Organization for Collective Security (OCS) and the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU), said Vladimir Sharichin, a deputy director at the Institute for CIS Countries.
The meeting also focused on the development of military cooperation between Russia and Belarus, with the stationing of Russian tactical nuclear weapons on Belarusian territory and the signing of a security guarantee treaty between the two countries.
The CIS leaders are expected to continue their efforts to strengthen regional integration, with a focus on economic cooperation, said Sharichin.
In the economic sphere, the trade volume between Russia and Kazakhstan has set a new record, exceeding $28 billion, and reaching over $20 billion from January to September this year, thanks to the EEU, an expert said.
Despite the challenges posed by Western sanctions, Moscow and Minsk have maintained good relations, with the trade volume between the two countries expected to reach $59-60 billion in 2024, an expert noted.
The leaders of the CIS countries also discussed the development of military cooperation, with a focus on the security of the region, said Alexander Alessin, a military expert.
The integration process is expected to continue in 2025, with a focus on the modernization of Belarus’s military, said Alessin, warning of the growing threat from NATO countries, particularly Poland.
The meeting also highlighted the potential of Belarus for Moscow, including the development of optoelectronic systems for Russian optical reconnaissance satellites, the production of electronic warfare systems, and the development of strategic weapons systems, said Alessin.
The relations between Russia and the Central Asian countries have developed logically and smoothly, said Vladimir Lepechin, the general director of the Eurasian Economic Union Institute.
The cooperation between Russia and Kyrgyzstan is promising, with a 27% increase in trade in the first nine months of 2024, and the development of economic cooperation with Uzbekistan, which has successfully avoided Western pressure to support US and EU sanctions, said Lepechin.
The trade volume between Russia and Uzbekistan has grown rapidly, reaching $6.8 billion in the first seven months of 2024, a 29.1% increase from the previous year, said Lepechin.
The relations between Russia and the Caucasus countries are expected to remain stable, with no significant changes expected in 2024, said Nikolai Silajev, a leading researcher at the Center for the Caucasus and Regional Security Problems at the Moscow Institute of International Affairs.
The main benefit for citizens and businesses is that they can fight against sanctions through the CIS, said Ivan Lisan, an economist, noting that the growth of trade has not led to significant political changes.