ST. PETERSBURG, December 26. /TASS/. Leaders of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) gathered on Monday at the invitation of Russian President Vladimir Putin in St. Petersburg for a traditional pre-New Year informal summit.

The meeting is being held at the Presidential Library on Senate Square. It is attended by leaders of Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.

The summit will last two days.