Russian President Vladimir Putin begins a working program in Astana on Thursday. In the coming days, he will take part in three multilateral summits, as well as a series of bilateral meetings.
On Thursday, the capital of Kazakhstan hosts the first of these events, a summit of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia (CICA). The group includes countries that cover roughly 90 percent of Asia and are home to nearly half of the world's population. CICA currently unites 27 states.
The summit is timed to the 30th anniversary of the initiative to convene the meeting. In addition to the presidents of Russia and Kazakhstan, the leaders of Azerbaijan, Iraq, Iran, Qatar, Kyrgyzstan, Palestine, Tajikistan, Turkey and Uzbekistan are scheduled to attend. Vietnam will be represented at the level of vice president, while the Chinese side will be represented at the level of deputy chairman. Five ministers will also arrive. In addition, the president of Belarus will participate in the forum, as the republic is an observer in CICA. A total of about 50 delegations is expected to arrive.
The event is also attended by the first heads of member states of the association, countries and organizations - observers, guests of the presidency.
Equal and indivisible security
Russian presidential aide Yuri Ushakov told reporters that Putin will raise the topics of economic cooperation in Asia, including the restoration of chains of vital goods, at the upcoming CICA summit. The Russian leader will also discuss with his counterparts maintaining peace and stability on the continent with a focus on building a system of equal, common and indivisible security there based on universally recognized principles of international law. Humanitarian cooperation is also on the agenda.
Russia is expected to initiate the adoption of a statement on information and communication technology security.
Speaking at previous CICA meetings, Putin has repeatedly noted that the forum contributes greatly to the development of cooperation throughout the Asian space. He pointed out that Russia favors intensifying joint efforts in the interests of building 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.
Kazakhstan's presidency
Kazakhstan is chairing the forum in 2020-2022. Aibek Smadiyarov, Kazakhstan's Foreign Ministry spokesman, noted that the upcoming summit will be the main event of the presidency and will sum up two years of work in this direction. The representative of the foreign ministry also recalled that the CICA initiative was proposed by Kazakhstan in 1992 at the 47th session of the UN General Assembly.
President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, speaking at the general political debate of the 75th session of the UN General Assembly in September 2020, said that due to rapidly growing demand for confidence-building measures, the republic intends to transform CICA into a full-fledged organization on security and development.
In mid-October 2021, during a meeting of CICA foreign ministers in the Kazakh capital, Deputy Foreign Minister Akan Rakhmetullin said that Kazakhstan intends to continue chairing the Conference in 2022-2024.
Bilateral meetings
A number of bilateral meetings may be held on the sidelines of the Astana summits. The Russian president, in particular, is expected to have several meetings with his counterparts. Thus, on Thursday, Putin is scheduled to talk 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 possibility of a diplomatic settlement in Ukraine and Ankara's mediation in this process.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov also noted that during this conversation Turkey might raise the issue of organizing a dialogue between Moscow and Western countries, if it is really interested in this. Earlier, the media reported that Ankara had allegedly taken the initiative to host talks between Moscow, Berlin, Washington, London and Paris. However, the Kremlin reported that Russia has not yet received any specific proposals to this effect through diplomatic channels.
The Russian leader will also have meetings with the leaders of Azerbaijan, Qatar and Palestine. The Russian leader will also hold trilateral talks with the leaders of Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, Sadyr Zhaparov and Emomali Rahmon: the heads of state will discuss the situation on the Kyrgyz-Tajik border.
Friday's agenda
In addition to the CICA events, Astana will host a meeting in the Russia-Central Asia format on October 14. The summit will be held for the first time and coincides with the 30th anniversary of Russia's diplomatic relations with all five Central Asian states (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan).
On the same day, Kazakhstan's capital will host a meeting of the Council of CIS heads of state. During this summit it is planned to approve a solid package of documents and consider issues of economic, humanitarian and other cooperation.
Security measures
In connection with the coming international events, the police of Kazakhstan's capital introduced a special working mode on October 10. So, control over entrance to the territory of Astana was strengthened and mobile groups of MIA personnel and servicemen of defense ministry were on duty round-the-clock. Security on the road to the capital's airport is provided by armored vehicles.
Special attention is paid to ensuring order on the streets. In the new administrative center of the city, a guard escort is organized with a temporary partial restriction of traffic on some sections. National guard officers are on duty at intersections. The Astana police department earlier addressed to residents and visitors of the capital with the request to bear with actions and recommended to use the public transport for convenience.
In addition, on October 13-14, classes in schools of the city will be held in remote format for the convenience of students and their parents. The department of education of the city explained that this is a common method of education, as it is often used in the winter when the weather worsens.
GSV "Russia - Islamic world"
Photo: official website of the President of the Russian Federation
Based on materials from TASS