Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- A meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Commonwealth of Independent States was held in Minsk on 12 April 2024.

The meeting was attended by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan Jeyhun Bayramov, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Belarus Sergey Aleynik, Deputy Prime Minister - Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan Murat Nurtleu, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kyrgyz Republic Jeenbek Kulubaev, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation Sergey Lavrov, the Minister of Foreign Affairs Affairs of the Republic of Tajikistan Sirojiddin Mukhriddin, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Uzbekistan Bakhtiyor Saidov, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Armenia Mnatsakan Safaryan, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan Serdar Muhammetdurdyev, Secretary General of the CIS Sergey Lebedev, reports the press service of the CIS Executive Committee.

The meeting began with a minute of silence in memory of the victims of the terrorist attack committed on 22 March 2024 in Moscow region of the Russian Federation.

In a narrow format, the heads of foreign affairs agencies exchanged views on current issues on the international agenda and interaction in the Commonwealth format. A decision was made on the date and place of the next meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers. It is planned to be held on 7 October 2024 in Moscow.

In a broad format, the heads of delegations discussed the issue of establishing a single anniversary medal “80 years of Victory in the Great Patriotic War of 1941–1945.” The corresponding information was presented by the Assistant to the Minister of Defense of the Republic of Belarus - Head of the Main Directorate of Ideological Work of the Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Belarus, Major General Leonid Kasinsky.

The anniversary medal will be awarded in accordance with national legislation to veterans of the Great Patriotic War, persons equated to them, as well as other persons by decision of the member states of the Commonwealth of Independent States. In this case, the procedure for awarding the medal is determined by the Commonwealth states.

The medal will be made of golden-colored metal and will have the shape of a circle with a diameter of 32 mm. The front side of the medal depicts figures of Red Army soldiers hoisting the Victory Banner over the Reichstag. At the top are the numbers “1945/2025”, on the left is an image of a fireworks display. Below is a faceted five-pointed star bordered by a laurel wreath.

The final decision on the establishment of the anniversary medal will be made by the Council of Heads of States of the CIS.

Another issue that will subsequently be submitted to the Council of Heads of States is the draft Convention on the legal status of delegations sent to the CIS member states. Members of the Council of Foreign Ministers approved the document.

The purpose of concluding the Convention is to regulate at the international legal level practical issues of organizing visits of delegations from the Commonwealth countries.

The document will define the terminological base, the procedure for sending delegations and appointing relevant personnel, as well as regulate the privileges and immunities necessary for members of delegations to perform their functions.

Foreign ministers have identified the sports capitals of the Commonwealth of Independent States for the next two years. In particular, in 2025, the city of Ganja (Republic of Azerbaijan) will receive the status of the Sports Capital of the Commonwealth; in 2026, the city of Almaty (Republic of Kazakhstan) will become the sports center of the CIS.

The heads of foreign affairs departments also decided to give the status of the base organization of the CIS countries in the field of research into problems of ensuring military security to the Research Institute of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Belarus, the base organization in the field of university sports - the Volga State University of Physical Culture, Sports and Tourism, the base organization in the field training, retraining and advanced training of personnel for judicial systems - Russian State University of Justice.

The meeting participants approved the results of multi-level inter-MFA consultations held in 2023 within the CIS and instructed the Commonwealth Executive Committee, together with the foreign ministries of states, to develop and submit in the prescribed manner for consideration by the Council of Foreign Ministers a similar draft Plan for 2025.

It should be noted that in 2023, 15 consultations were held, including meetings of the Advisory Council of Heads of Consular Services and the Advisory Committee of Heads of Legal Services of the Ministries of Foreign Affairs of the CIS countries, as well as the Joint Consultative Commission on Disarmament Issues.

In addition, the results of the implementation of the Program of Action to intensify partnerships between the foreign policy departments of the Commonwealth countries over the past year were approved at the meeting.

The Council of Foreign Ministers of the Commonwealth of Independent States adopted a Statement on ensuring safe conditions for the professional activities of journalists and preventing infringement of their rights.

The document notes that the right to freedom of opinion, expression and access to open information are the most important components of modern society, guaranteed by fundamental international documents in the field of human rights. In this regard, the Ministers of Foreign Affairs speak out in defense of the rights of the media and for ensuring their pluralism, and note the inadmissibility of unfounded bans on journalists carrying out their professional activities.

The Statement focuses on the formation of a unifying positive agenda in the information environment, preventing the dissemination of news that provokes ethnic and religious strife, creating and ensuring safe and favorable conditions for journalists and media workers doing their work.

At the meeting, a Statement was also signed in connection with the 30th anniversary of the CIS being granted observer status at the UN General Assembly.

It noted that the Commonwealth pays priority attention to establishing relations with the UN in a wide range of areas, including in accordance with the provisions of the UN General Assembly resolution “Cooperation between the CIS and the UN”.

The Statement calls for further deepening of cooperation and coordination of efforts between the CIS and the UN, their executive bodies, specialized UN agencies and specialized structures of the CIS.