DUSHANBE, April 19, 2011, Asia-Plus  -- Preparations for the summit of CIS heads of state that will take place in Dushanbe in September were the focus of a meeting of President Emomali Rahmon with visiting CIS Executive Secretary Sergey Lebedev that was held here today.

Following the meeting with President Rahmon, Lebedev told reporters that President Emomali Rahmon, as leader of the country that assumed the rotating CIS chairmanship, signed a joint statement by the CIS heads of state on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the beginning of the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945.

According him, Tajik leader also confirmed his participation in an informal CIS summit that would take place in Moscow at the end of the year on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the founding of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS).

The CIS executive secretary added that during the meeting, he appreciated Tajikistan’s efficient chairmanship at all forums held within the CIS area.

We will recall that Sergey Lebedev arrived in Dushanbe Monday evening on a three-day meeting to discuss with high-ranking Tajik state officials issues related to Tajikistan’s rotating CIS chairmanship.

Tajikistan assumed the rotating CIS chairmanship for this year and Dushanbe will host the summit of the CIS heads of state in September this year.

The Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) is a regional organization whose participating countries are former Soviet Republics, formed during the breakup of the Soviet Union.  It now consists of Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Ukraine.  Georgia pulled out of the organization in 2009.