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Putin to travel to Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan

On Wednesday, the leaders of Russia, Belarus, and Kazakhstan will hold a session of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council

SOCHI, May 27 (Itar-Tass) - President Vladimir Putin sets out Monday on a two-day working tour, during which he will participate in an informal summit of the member-countries of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) in Kyrgyzstan and a session of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council in Kazakhstan, Russian presidential aide Yuri Ushakov said, pointing out that the main working program of the RF President's visit to Kyrgyzstan is scheduled for Tuesday. Putin will hold separate bilateral meetings with Almazbek Atambayev, the host of the CSTO summit, and Tajik President Emomali Rakhmon. An informal CSTO summit will ensue.

"This organization is a tangible factor in ensuring stability in the CIS states that allows discussing not only military and military-technical issues, but also political problems," Ushakov said.

Those present at the summit will mainly discuss further development of the collective security system and the improvement of a joint operational and combat training of the CSTO Collective Security Forces, the presidential aide said. "But, probably, the most topical issue is the counteraction to the threats, which are coming from Afghanistan", considering particularly the forthcoming withdawal of the international security forces from that country in 2014, Ushakov noted. He said this would refer to measures to reinforce the Tajik-Afghan border, combat drug trafficking and extremism.

On Wednesday, the leaders of Russia, Belarus, and Kazakhstan will hold a session of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council. The Council will discuss the prospects of further integration cooperation, the plans for forming a Eurasian economic union by January 1, 2015, the functioning of the Customs Union and further development of the Common Economic Space, Ushakov said.dsofnoted. Meanwhile, the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council will discuss the international legal documentation, including a draft agreement over the Common Economic Space and will consider the adoption of a concept of the agrarian and industrial policy and the creation of an integrated information system of foreign and reciprocal trade.

Later in the day the leaders of Russia, Belarus, and Kazakhstan are also to meet with the presidents of Kyrgyzstan and Ukraine, Ushakov said.

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