MOSCOW, October 8. /TASS/. The share of national currencies in commercial operations among member-countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) has already been above 85%, Russian President Vladimir Putin said at the CIS summit.

The interaction within the framework of CIS is the priority of the Russian foreign policy. "We, naturally, are set to strengthen our cooperation in all the aspects," Putin stressed.

The key area of organization’s activity is to"fight terrorism and extremism, organized crime, illegal drug circulation and corruption," the Russian leader said. Russia supports the idea of creating an association of volunteer organization and holding volunteer forums on an annual basis.

The weight of the CIS as the regional integration association is steadily growing, the Russian leader noted. "Member-states of the Commonwealth are acting exclusively on principles of mutual understanding, equality of rights and good-neighborliness, successfully solving key tasks of improving welfare and quality of life of our citizens," Putin stressed.

The consolidated GDP of CIS countries gained 4.7% during the first half of 2024.

Russia is presiding in BRICS this year. The association "is gaining momentum" and becoming attractive for plenty of countries, the Russian leader said. Establishing close cooperation with BRICS is in interests of all the CIS member-states, he added.