The VI summit of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA) has opened in Astana.
According to the official representative of the Kazakh Foreign Ministry Aibek Smadiyarov, heads of 11 states are taking part in the forum. Among them are the leaders of Uzbekistan, Russia, Azerbaijan, Iraq, Iran, Qatar, Kyrgyzstan, Palestine, Tajikistan, Turkey, Vietnam and China.
Russian President Vladimir Putin starts his working visit to in Astana on Thursday. In the coming days, he will take part in three multinational summits at once, as well as in a series of bilateral meetings.
On Thursday, the capital of Kazakhstan will host the first of such events - the summit of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA). The association involves countries that occupy about 90% of the territory of Asia and account for almost half of the world's population. At the moment, CICA unites 27 countries.
The summit is timed to coincide with the 30th anniversary of the initiative to convene the Conference. It is planned that in addition to the presidents of Russia and Kazakhstan, the leaders of Azerbaijan, Iraq, Iran, Qatar, Kyrgyzstan, Palestine, Tajikistan, Turkey and Uzbekistan will take part in the event. Vietnam and China will be represented at the level of Vice Presidents. The President of Belarus will participate in the work of the summit, since the republic is an observer in the CICA. In total, about 50 delegations are expected to attend the event.
The first heads of member-states of the association and countries and organizations, which have status of observers, guests of the chairmanship are also invited to the event.
As Russian presidential aide Yury Ushakov told reporters, at the upcoming CICA summit Putin will raise topics of economic cooperation in Asia, including the restoration of chains of essential goods. The Russian leader and his counterparts will also discuss maintenance of peace and stability on the continent with an emphasis on the formation of a system of equal, common and indivisible security based on the universally recognized principles of international law. The agenda also includes humanitarian cooperation.
At Russia’s initiative, the leaders are expected to adopt a statement on ensuring security in the area information and communication technologies.
Speaking at previous CICA meetings, Putin repeatedly noted that the forum makes a great contribution to the development of cooperation throughout the Asian space. He pointed out that Russia stands for the intensification of joint efforts in the interests of forming a security system in Asia based on universally recognized principles of international law, such as mutual trust, good neighborliness, respect for sovereignty and non-interference in internal affairs.
A number of bilateral meetings can be held on the sidelines of the summits in Astana. In particular, on Thursday, Putin will meet with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Earlier this conversation was announced by the Turkish leader himself. He explained that at a meeting on October 13, he plans to discuss with Putin the possibilities of a diplomatic settlement in Ukraine and Ankara's mediation in this process.
As Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov noted, during this meeting, Turkey could propose organizing a dialogue between Moscow and Western countries, if it is really interested in this. Earlier, the media reported that Ankara allegedly took the initiative to host the talks between representatives of Moscow, Berlin, Washington, London and Paris. However, as reported in the Kremlin, Russia has not yet received any specific proposals on this matter through diplomatic channels.
The Russian leader will also have meetings with the leaders of Azerbaijan, Qatar and Palestine. Trilateral talks will also be held with the leaders of Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan Sadyr Japarov and Emomali Rahmon. The heads of state will discuss the situation on the Kyrgyz-Tajik border.
On October 14, Astana will host a meeting in the Russia-Central Asia format. This summit will be held for the first time, it is timed to coincide with the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Russia and all five Central Asian states (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan).
On the same day, the capital of Kazakhstan will host a meeting of the Council of CIS Heads of State. At this summit, the CIS leaders are to approve a package of documents, to discuss cooperation in economic, humanitarian and other areas.
