On October 10, 2025, the Council of Heads of State of the Commonwealth of Independent States held its summit in Dushanbe, under the chairmanship of the President of the Republic of Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon.
Present at the meeting were:
- President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev,
- Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan,
- President of the Republic of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko,
- President of the Republic of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev,
- President of the Kyrgyz Republic Sadyr Japarov,
- President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin,
- President of Turkmenistan Serdar Berdimuhamedov,
- President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev,
- Secretary General of the CIS Sergey Lebedev.
In a narrow format, the heads of state exchanged views on current issues of cooperation within the Commonwealth of Independent States and adopted a decision on the CIS chairmanship in 2026, which will pass to Turkmenistan.
In an expanded format, the meeting considered the situation with Human Rights Commission of the Commonwealth of Independent States. The Chairperson of the CIS Human Rights Commission and the Human Rights Commissioner of the Russian Federation and Tatyana Moskalkova delivered a report on the Commission activities in 2023–2025.
The members of the CIS Heads of State Council approved the Programme of Cooperation in Combating Terrorism and Extremism for 2026–2028. The Programme is aimed at the further improvement of cooperation among states, statutory bodies, and sectoral cooperation bodies of the CIS in this area. The Programme’s activities envisage the development of the international legal framework and organizational mechanisms, the preparation and implementation of joint measures to prevent, detect, suppress and investigate terrorist and extremist crimes, as well as informational, analytical, scientific and methodological support for the activities of the CIS member states in this field, and the development of staff potential of competent authorities.
The Programme of Cooperation among the CIS Member States in Strengthening Border Security at External Borders for 2026–2030 was signed. The set of measures provided for by the Programme includes organizational, legal and practical activities, as well as cooperation in the informational, military, technical, scientific, research, humanitarian spheres, and personnel training. The document is based on generally recognized principles and norms of international law, the foundational CIS documents, including the Alma-Ata Declaration, international obligations of the states, their national legislation, the results of analysis and forecasting of the situation at external borders, the experience of joint actions by Commonwealth countries in countering contemporary challenges and threats to border security, as well as the outcomes of the previous programme document.
The heads of state also signed the Treaty on the Procedure for Organizing and Conducting International Controlled Deliveries by Competent Authorities of the CIS Member States and the First Optional Protocol to the 1998 Convention on the Transfer of Sentenced Persons for the Purpose of Serving Their Sentences.
Another document regulating cooperation in the field of security, signed at the summit in the capital of Tajikistan, is the Military Cooperation Concept until 2030. In accordance with the priorities of the CIS states, cooperation in the military sphere is open, predictable, consistently non-bloc in nature, and not directed against third countries.
Multilateral military cooperation within the Commonwealth framework envisages strengthening mutual trust measures, indivisible security, and development of equal and good-neighborly relations, including other countries and international organizations. Its development is carried out for the purpose of maintaining international peace, regional stability, and the secure development of each CIS state.
The spiritual foundation of military cooperation aimed at strengthening the Commonwealth of Independent States and the sovereignty of the CIS member states is the historical memory of the 1945 Great Victory, our nations’ common heroic past, and constructive present.
To develop further cooperation in the economic sphere, the CIS Heads of State Council approved the Declaration on Cooperation in Ensuring Regional Energy Security. The document defines the common goals of cooperation in regional energy security, including the protection of the economy and population from economic, man-made, social, foreign policy, natural, and cyber threats by meeting domestic and external demand for energy resources, guaranteeing a reliable and sustainable supply of standard-quality energy resources and energy services to consumers, ensuring the efficient and rational use of energy resources, and achieving maximum resilience of the fuel and energy sector to negative internal and external factors.
The heads of state decided to terminate of a number of multilateral treaties concluded within the framework of the CIS.
One of the key decisions of the summit was to establish the “Commonwealth of Independent States Plus” format. The initiative was put forward by the Kazakhstan.
The “Commonwealth of Independent States Plus” format will serve as a platform for cooperation between the CIS countries and other states, their associations, and international organizations interested in establishing interaction with the Commonwealth in areas of mutual interest.
Within this format, cooperation will be developed with the aim to create and strengthen sustainable political dialogue and to reinforce economic, cultural, humanitarian, and other ties.
Furthermore, the summit adopted a number of joint statements by the heads of the CIS member states: on cooperation in combating transnational crime, on the occasion of the 80th the United Nations anniversary, and in connection with the 40th anniversary of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant accident.
On the initiative of the CIS Interstate Fund for Humanitarian Cooperation, President of the Republic of Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon was awarded the medal “For Merits in the Development of Humanitarian Cooperation”.
The next meeting of the CIS Heads of State Council is scheduled for October 2026 in Turkmenistan.