Putin pledges closer ties with ex-Soviet neighbors at CIS summit

TURKMENBASHI, Turkmenistan (AP) — Russia’s President Vladimir Putin hailed cooperation with other ex-Soviet nations on Friday and vowed to help strengthen economic and other ties between them.

Putin said the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), a loose grouping of former Soviet nations, had become an “authoritative regional integration structure” helping maintain “economic, social, cultural and humanitarian ties developed by our peoples over centuries.”

Speaking at a CIS summit in the Caspian Sea resort of Avaza, outside the port city of Turkmenbashi, in Turkmenistan, he said that the Russian language “works as a powerful uniting force across the vast space of the Commonwealth.”

He didn’t mention Russia’s war in Ukraine, but hailed a “stable financial infrastructure that is independent from foreign influence that currently helps us efficiently solve many tasks.”

Russia has expanded its trade with its former Soviet neighbors as it faces Western sanctions over the war in Ukraine.

Putin said that Russia’s trade with CIS members topped $110 billion in 2025, with 90% of transactions made in national currencies.

“It allows us to deepen economic cooperation regardless of foreign influence,” he said.

Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian, who attended the CIS summit as an observer, later joined a separate meeting of Caspian Sea nations’ leaders.

Putin and Pezeshkian held talks on the sidelines of the Turkmenistan summit on Thursday.

“We know that Iran has made genuine efforts to resolve the conflict that erupted in the region not through its fault, not through Iran’s fault, and again has put forward new proposals for resolving the situation by peaceful means,” Putin told Pezeshkian at the start of their talks. “For our part, we are ready to do all we can to help you resolve the situation.”

Pezeshkian praised relations between Moscow and Tehran and thanked Russia for opposing U.S “unilateralism.” He said Iran’s rights must be respected for the conflict to end.

“We are trying to move the process forward,” Pezeshkian said. “We have made some suggestions, the Americans have given new suggestions, and we have made some adjustments. Once completed, we can sit down with the intermediaries and finalize these suggestions.”