Russian President Vladimir Putin has invited his counterparts from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) to the traditional informal pre-New Year summit to be held in St. Petersburg on December 21.

“Of course, in keeping with our good tradition, dear friends, I would like to invite you all to St. Petersburg on December 21, where, as always, we traditionally gather for an informal, friendly meeting,” Putin told CIS leaders at the organization’s summit in Turkmenistan, which was also attended by Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.

“We can discuss all current and future issues,” the Russian president said, referring to the agenda of the pre-New Year meeting.

He also said that the CIS format had enabled member states to preserve economic, social, cultural and humanitarian ties that had developed over centuries.

Putin emphasized that the economy had been and remained one of the priority areas of cooperation within the CIS.

“CIS countries maintain close cooperation in trade, investment and high technology. Of course, as was just mentioned, we would like to move faster and work even more effectively in this area. That is certainly the case. Nevertheless, the work is ongoing,” he added.