An informal meeting of CIS leaders began near St. Petersburg.

The summit of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) member countries began at the Igora resort complex in the Leningrad region , the Kremlin press service reported.

Russian President Vladimir Putin attended the event . He began his speech by offering condolences on behalf of those gathered to the victims and families of those killed in the plane crash near Aktau, Kazakhstan.

"On your behalf, I would like to express my condolences to the families of the victims and all those injured. We hope for their recovery," he said.

In agreement with the President of Kazakhstan, a Russian Emergencies Ministry plane carrying medical personnel and the necessary additional equipment will depart for Aktau, Putin added.

The CIS leaders' meeting traditionally takes place every year at the end of December in St. Petersburg . This time, the informal summit will take place at the Igora ski resort in the Leningrad Region, not far from St. Petersburg.

The summit brought together the leaders of Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. The leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan were absent. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan announced he would not attend the event due to a positive COVID-19 test .

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev cut short his visit to Russia due to the plane crash in Aktau.

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