Russia to be next chair of CIS

Regular meeting of the CIS Council of Heads of State in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, decided that Russia will chair the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) from January 1, 2017.

“I would like to also say that a decision has been made that from Jan. 1, 2017, in accordance with documents and protocol, the CIS chairmanship will be handed over to Russia [from Kyrgyzstan],” Kyrgyz President Almazbek Atambayev said at the Bishkek meeting, RIA Novosti reported on  September 16.

The Bishkek meeting also approved to hold the next meeting of the CIS Council of Heads of State on October 11, 2017 in Moscow.