Putin goes on a visit to Kyrgyzstan

Russian President Vladimir Putin begins a work program in Bishkek. During his two-day official visit to Kyrgyzstan, he will take part in a meeting of the CIS Council of Heads of State, hold a series of bilateral meetings, including with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, and attend other events.

The first day of the visit will begin with the ceremony of the official meeting of the head of the Russian state with his counterpart from Kyrgyzstan Sadyr Zhaparov.

The next item in the presidential program for October 12 is the Russian-Kyrgyz negotiations. On the part of the Russian Federation, the delegation will include Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Deputy Prime Minister Alexei Overchuk, Justice Minister Konstantin Chuichenko, Minister of Natural Resources Alexander Kozlov, Head of the Ministry of Economic Development Maxim Reshetnikov, Minister of Science and Higher Education Valery Falkov and Head of Rosatom Alexey Likhachev.

Among the topics to be discussed are key issues of further development of bilateral relations in political, trade, economic, military-technical, cultural, humanitarian and other fields. An exchange of views on topical international issues is also planned. 

Following the talks, a signing ceremony of joint intergovernmental and interdepartmental documents will take place, after which Putin and Zhaparov will make a final statement to the media.

Continuation of the program
The leaders of the Russian Federation and Kyrgyzstan will take part in a solemn event dedicated to the 20th anniversary of the Russian military airbase Kant in Kyrgyzstan. As the assistant to the President of the Russian Federation for International Affairs Yuri Ushakov reported on the eve of the event, the military will report to Putin on the progress of the exercises of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) "Unbreakable Brotherhood - 2023".

The active phase of the CSTO exercises takes place in Kyrgyzstan from October 9 to 13 on the territory of the Edelweiss training ground. These maneuvers are the completion of the operational and strategic exercises of the CSTO "Combat Brotherhood - 2023".

According to the plan of the exercises, the CSTO forces will conduct a peacekeeping operation in the area of responsibility with a depth of 24 km and a width of 168 km, the organization noted. So, in the buffer zone, the participants of the exercises need to equip 26 observation posts and 15 checkpoints, as well as take more than ten important state facilities under protection. Ground units, aircraft and combat boats are involved in the waters of Lake Issyk-Kul. In the course of practical actions, collective peacekeeping forces practice actions at a checkpoint, tasks at a filtration point and a refugee camp, escorting convoys with humanitarian cargo, blocking a settlement, as well as freeing "hostages" from a captured sea vessel and providing assistance to victims. The exercises are attended by national contingents of the peacekeeping forces of Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Tajikistan, operational groups of the Joint Staff and the CSTO Secretariat. In total, about 1.5 thousand people were involved in the exercises . military personnel, more than 200 units of military and special equipment.

Contacts with the President of Azerbaijan
The Russian leader's schedule for October 12 also includes a meeting with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev. The two heads of state are expected to discuss issues related to the situation around Nagorno-Karabakh, the peaceful integration of Karabakh Armenians into the legal field of Azerbaijan, and the observance of their internationally recognized rights and freedoms.

In addition, the interlocutors will also touch upon the topic of the Russian peacekeeping contingent, whose mandate expires in December 2025. Ushakov explained that various options for the possible further use of the Russian peacekeeping forces will be considered, including in the context of ensuring the possible return of Karabakh Armenians to their places of residence, which they left in September after the escalation of the conflict in Karabakh. The Kremlin noted that Moscow attaches great importance to contacts with Baku, and stressed that Russian-Azerbaijani relations are at a high level, dynamically developing, and the issues of cooperation in the field of economy and the implementation of joint initiatives in the energy and industrial spheres will be on the agenda in addition to the topics already outlined.