Armenian PM Nikol Pashinyan arrived in St. Petersburg today to attend an informal meeting of the leaders of the Commonwealth of Independent States.

Pashinyan travelled to St. Petersburg following his meeting in Prague with French President Emmanuel Macron, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and EC President Charles Michel on the sidelines of the first European Political Community summit.

The Azerbaijani press reports that Aliyev will also attend the CIS conclave.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov says today’s conclave will be an important stage in preparation for the CIS summit scheduled for next week in Astana.  

Today’s meeting coincides with Russian President Vladimir Putin’s seventieth birthday.