The ministerial session prepares documents for the 9 October leaders’ meeting. Russia and Turkmenistan used the occasion to approve a foreign-ministry cooperation programme for 2027–2028.
Tariq Saeedi and Raviliya Kadyrova at Awaza
Foreign ministers of the Commonwealth of Independent States met in the Avaza National Tourist Zone on 7 October to review the Commonwealth’s work in 2026 and prepare decisions for the leaders’ meeting, as the CIS marks its 35th anniversary.
The session opens a three-day sequence of events in Avaza under Turkmenistan’s chairmanship.
The CIS Council of Heads of State meets on 9 October. The day before, on 8 October, the presidents of the Central Asian states and Azerbaijan hold a consultative meeting. Caspian ministers are also meeting on environmental issues on 7 October, and a Caspian environmental summit accompanies the leaders’ meeting on 9 October.
The agenda
Ahead of the meeting, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said the ministers would take stock of the year’s activities and discuss prospects for cooperation, with particular attention to the anniversary. She said decisions were expected on cultural, humanitarian and law-enforcement cooperation, and on strengthening foreign-policy coordination among members.
The ministers were also expected to approve a plan of multi-level consultations between foreign ministries for 2027 and to agree the date and venue of the next Council meeting.
As is customary, most documents approved by the ministers will pass to the Council of Heads of State on 9 October. Some will go to the Council of Heads of Government, which meets in Moscow in December.
Bilateral track
Sergei Lavrov represented Russia. On the sidelines of the Council, he and Turkmenistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Rashid Meredov approved a programme of cooperation between their ministries for 2027–2028. It succeeds the 2025–2026 programme now in force. Russian President Vladimir Putin is due to make a working visit to Turkmenistan on 8 and 9 October.
Azerbaijan’s Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov also travelled to Avaza, to speak at the Council and to attend a separate meeting of the foreign ministers of Central Asia and Azerbaijan.
Turkmenistan’s chairmanship
Turkmenistan took over the CIS chairmanship from Tajikistan on 1 January 2026. Its concept for the year centres on five priorities: peace and security, economic cooperation and transport connectivity, digital transformation, the environment, and humanitarian cooperation. The chairmanship’s action plan includes around 25 major events, among them the Heads of Government meeting held in Ashgabat in May. The Avaza meetings are its highest-level point.
What to watch
The final significance of the ministerial session will depend on the documents and statements released after it. The 35th anniversary gives the leaders’ meeting a ceremonial dimension. The practical question is whether the ministers’ decisions on consultations, humanitarian cooperation and institutional matters move through to the heads of state without change. /// nCa, 7 October 2026