BISHKEK, October 12. /TASS/. The foreign ministers of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) member countries have approved a proposal by Kazakhstan to create the categories of observer countries and partner countries for the group, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told reporters.

"At the suggestion of Kazakhstan, it was decided to create categories of observer and partner countries within the CIS. Specific candidates will be considered after this document is approved by the respective heads of state," Lavrov said after a meeting of the CIS Council of Foreign Ministers, which is convening in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.

The top Russian diplomat added that, during the meeting, the parties approved a plan for conducting consultations among the CIS foreign ministries for the next two years and considered a number of draft documents agreed upon for inclusion in the final report to the heads of state to be delivered on October 13. "Among these documents are a statement in support of religious freedom, a statement on international relations in a multipolar world, a statement on cooperation in the sphere of digitalization, and a statement in support of the Russian language as a means of intercultural communication," Lavrov said. "A document was adopted on the establishment of an International Organization for the Russian Language, which will be open to any interested country, including non-CIS members," the foreign minister added.