Informal CIS summit begins at State Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg

ST. PETERSBURG. Dec 22 (Interfax) - An informal summit of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) has begun in St. Petersburg.

Russian President Vladimir Putin welcomed his guests at the Alexander Hall of the Winter Palace, dedicated to the memory of Emperor Alexander I and the Patriotic War of 1812, where they were entertained with a tour led by State Hermitage Museum General Director Mikhail Piotrovsky.

Following the tour, the CIS leaders will continue their conversation at an informal breakfast and will attend a concert.

Putin may also have separate conversations with some of his guests.

Russian presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov said on Sunday that Putin would certainly talk separately with all the invited heads of the CIS countries in St. Petersburg. Peskov also said on Monday that, at the conclusion of the summit, Putin planned a bilateral meeting with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.

It is known that Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev will not take part in the informal summit. His press service on Monday attributed this to his busy schedule.

Informal meetings of CIS leaders in St. Petersburg and its suburbs in the run-up to New Year's holidays has become a tradition, with Putin welcoming his CIS counterparts there for years.