Speaking at the limited-format meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) in Turkmenbashi, Turkmenistan, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko called Azerbaijan’s decision to chair the CIS in 2028 a historic moment.

“A new phase in the development of our organization is the decision of [Azerbaijani President] Ilham Heydarovich [Aliyev] to assume the [CIS] presidency for the first time in 2028. This is, undoubtedly, a historic moment; the [Azerbaijani] president himself said this,” Lukashenko said, BelTA reports.

“I hope that Armenia will also decide to fulfill this honorable function in accordance with the sequence in 2029,” Lukashenko added.