President of Russia Vladimir Putin at the CIS Council of Heads of State and Caspian Environmental Summit
🎙 Statement (http://kremlin.ru/events/president/news/80952)by President of Russia Vladimir Putin at the restricted-format meeting of the CIS Council of Heads of State (Turkmenbashi, October 9, 2026)
💬 Vladimir Putin: Over the past three and a half decades, the Commonwealth of Independent States (#CIS) has come a long way, establishing itself as a respected regional integration association.
It is thanks to the CIS that we have managed to preserve, and in many areas even strengthen, the economic, social, cultural and humanitarian ties our peoples developed over centuries of living in a single state.
The economy has always been, and remains, one of our priorities for cooperation. The CIS countries work closely together in trade, investment and high technology. Of course, we would like to move faster and work more effectively in this area. That is certainly true. Nevertheless, progress is being made.
📈 Notably, Russia’s trade with its CIS partners exceeded $110 billion in 2025 and grew by a further 12% in the first half of this year.
Our countries have also established effective coordination in tackling financial and economic offences, money laundering and corruption. We are implementing joint programmes to combat the criminal use of digital technologies, organised crime, drug trafficking, terrorism and extremism. Our law enforcement agencies and special services maintain close operational contacts.
A number of useful new decisions on criminal justice, cybercrime prevention and border protection have been submitted for approval at this Summit, and Russia supports them.
🌐 I am pleased to note that the CIS countries unanimously support the establishment of a fair #MultipolarWorld order based on the universally recognised principles of international law and the central role of the UN.
Humanitarian ties are an important part of our partnership within the CIS. We maintain intensive exchanges in science and education, culture and tourism, healthcare and environmental protection, sport and youth policy.
As for the environment, thanks to our hosts (https://t.me/MFARussia/32639), who are chairing this meeting, we will also discuss the situation in the Caspian Sea today – a pressing issue for many of us.
🇷🇺 The Russian language is a powerful unifying force across the vast CIS region, as has also been noted today. In 2026, the International Organisation for the Russian Language (https://t.me/Intl_RussianLanguageOrganisation) began its work. Its first ministerial meeting (https://t.me/Intl_RussianLanguageOrganisation/5) took place in Moscow, setting out the main areas of work to preserve our shared Russian-language cultural and humanitarian heritage and promote the Russian language worldwide.
I have repeatedly stressed the importance of joint efforts by the CIS countries to protect our shared history and prevent its falsification. Young people must know the truth about our peoples’ achievements during the Soviet era and the heroic feats of our fathers and grandfathers during the Great Patriotic War (https://t.me/MFARussia/29755).
More broadly, promoting a positive image of the CIS among the public, in the media and on the international stage is a particularly important task. We expect the relevant decision being approved at today’s meeting to give fresh impetus to this work.
🤝 Following our established tradition, dear friends, I would like to invite you all to St Petersburg on December 21. We traditionally gather for a friendly meeting of CIS Leaders (https://t.me/MFARussia/27854) ahead of the New Year, giving us an opportunity to discuss current issues and future plans in an informal setting.
🎙 Statement by President of Russia Vladimir Putin at the Caspian Environmental Summit (Turkmenbashi, October 9, 2026)
💬 Vladimir Putin: The Caspian Sea is of immense environmental, economic, transport and, of course, cultural and historical importance to all of us as one of the cradles of Eurasian civilisation.
Russia attaches the highest priority to working with its partners to protect and preserve the Caspian Sea’s ecosystem. Governments, businesses, civil society organisations and a wide range of scientists and specialists are actively involved in these efforts.
❗️ I share the view expressed by my colleagues that the declining water level of the Caspian Sea is one of the most pressing challenges we face today.
According to our estimates, over the past 20 years, some 20,000 square kilometres along the Russian section of the Caspian coastline alone have dried up. Russia has to allocate substantial budget funds every year to dredging operations to keep shipping routes navigable.
Research by Russian and foreign experts indicates that the main cause of the Caspian Sea’s declining water level is climate change.
☝️ Our countries need to develop joint measures to preserve the Caspian Sea’s ecosystem. We believe it is essential to make full use of existing international institutions for this purpose. I am referring primarily to the Conference of the Parties to the Framework Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the Caspian Sea – the so-called Tehran Convention of 2003.
I would also like to mention Russia’s proposal to create a digital copy of the Caspian Sea. This would be a highly accurate virtual model using AI algorithms to analyse changes in evaporation, precipitation and river inflows. The model could be used to produce reliable projections of changes in the Caspian Sea’s water level.
I would stress that large-scale efforts to preserve the Caspian ecosystem require not only financial resources and intergovernmental mechanisms, but also highly qualified specialists with expertise across a wide range of natural sciences. Training such specialists is a pressing task.
🤝 Russia has always supported, and will continue to support, closer cooperation among our countries to preserve the Caspian region’s ecosystem, ensure its sustainable growth and improve people’s quality of life.