«One of the main topics because of which we have gathered, requiring deeper discussion, is our common fight against the coronavirus pandemic,» the President of Russia Vladimir Putin said at the opening of the informal summit of CIS Heads of State.
The President of the Russian Federation reminded that the pre-New Year meeting of the presidents in St. Petersburg has already become a tradition. Before the pandemic, the heads of state regularly met in this format. This year is special for the CIS: it marks the 30th anniversary of the organization.
«I have to say that the ties that have been preserved since the times of the Soviet Union play a positive role. This gives us the opportunity to go through the difficult times of the pandemic. All countries of the world are faced with it, and this has serious consequences in the economic and social spheres. But we, while preserving the opportunities and competitive advantages that we inherited from the past, manage to overcome these difficulties even better than in many other countries of the world. I want to say that we have supported and intend to maintain these relations in the future,» Vladimir Putin said.
He also told that the countries cooperate in the field of joint scientific activities, the development of medicines, preventive measures, the exchange of test kits and other means of overcoming COVID-19.
The Chief Sanitary Doctor of Russia Anna Popova was also invited to the meeting. She told about the fight against the coronavirus pandemic and what, according to experts, needs to be done together in order to effectively move on, overcoming the problem.
After Anna Popova’s report, the CIS presidents decided to discuss the issue behind closed doors.
The President of Kyrgyzstan Sadyr Japarov also participated in the meeting.
