An informal summit of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) was held in St. Petersburg, Russia, on Monday.
Russian President Vladimir Putin met with the heads of the CIS countries, RIA Novosti reported.
At the summit, Putin said "the challenges, security threats and disagreements in the CIS space are growing, but the main thing is that the countries are ready to cooperate."
Putin also said they expect the volume of trade between the CIS to rise to $100 billion next year.
The leaders will sum up the results of 2022 and discuss plans for further cooperation in the most relevant areas for the Commonwealth.