MINSK, August 5. /TASS/. Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has declared the 2nd CIS Games open during the opening ceremony at the Minsk Arena.

"I declare the 2nd CIS Games open," Lukashenko said.

On August 4-14, Belarus is hosting the 2nd edition of the CIS (the Commonwealth of Independent States) Games in the country’s eleven cities in 20 sports. Over 2,000 athletes from Russia, Belarus, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan will take part in the Games, along with athletes from 13 more countries that were invited to the competitions as guests. A total of 408 Russian athletes are participating in the Games.