Minister of Foreign Affairs of Belarus M.Ryzhenkov attends the CIS Council of Foreign Ministers meeting

On April 17, 2026 a meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Commonwealth of Independent States was held in Moscow, Russian Federation, during which the heads of foreign ministries exchanged views on topical issues on the international agenda. 

In his address, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Belarus, Maxim Ryzhenkov, noted that amid the ongoing global upheavals, the CIS is maintaining the trend towards the development of our countries.

The head of the Belarusian Foreign Ministry emphasised the need to resolve the crisis in Ukraine and the military confrontation in the Middle East, which pose additional challenges for the Commonwealth countries, particularly for the states of Central Asia and the South Caucasus. He called for ‘diplomatic unity’ among the CIS member states.

The Minister stressed the need to further strengthen humanitarian and cultural cooperation within the Commonwealth, as well as to develop tourism.

Maxim Ryzhenkov put forward a number of proposals on expanding the CIS’s cooperation with international organisations.

During the meeting, the Belarusian Minister held a series of meetings with his counterparts from CIS countries, during which the parties discussed the organisation of bilateral visits at the highest and high levels and the holding of inter-ministerial consultations.

Following the meeting, documents were signed aimed at deepening cooperation within the CIS in the fields of foreign policy, culture, humanitarian affairs and education, as well as joint statements by the foreign ministers of the CIS member states on the situation in the Persian Gulf region and on the occasion of the 65th anniversary of the first human spaceflight. 

The parties agreed to hold the next meeting of the CIS Council of Foreign Ministers in October 2026 in Turkmenistan.