Russian President Vladimir Putin has officially come to the convention center in the Awaza national tourist zone, in Turkmenistan. His host, Turkmenistan President Serdar Berdimuhamedov, met with the Russian president in the lobby, where they took a photo together.

The event is the first in high-level diplomatic contacts organized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan. The state visit gathers together the most important leaders of the region for two key events: the Council of Heads of State of CIS and the long-awaited Caspian Environmental Summit.

The diplomatic process will start at the CIS summit that is to be held in a narrow and expanded format. After these preliminary policy exchanges, the leaders of Russia and the delegations of other countries will be given a chance to visit a specially prepared exhibition at the venue.

After the CIS meetings, diplomacy will turn to the critical regional ecological issues. The President of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan will attend the Caspian Environmental Summit with leaders from the other Caspian nations. The special session is designed to take up current environmental problems and encourage sustainable resource use at the highest level of the government in the region of the shared Caspian Sea.