The first time 6 US and Central Asian leaders met in the C5+1 format, what did Russia say?

Russia affirmed that it closely followed the meeting of US and Central Asian leaders, but that was not its main task.

Leaders of the 'C5+1' group at a summit on the sidelines of the 78th Session of the United Nations General Assembly, September 19 in New York, USA. (Source: Akorda)

On September 22, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov announced that Russia is closely following the meeting between the US President and leaders of Central Asian countries on the sidelines of the 78th Session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York (USA), but Moscow's focus remains on continuing its own dialogue process with countries in the region.

Speaking to reporters, Mr. Peskov stated: “Of course, Central Asian countries have their own relations with the United States. They certainly have the right to hold such meetings. We are closely monitoring all developments.”

“However, our main task is not these developments, but to continue the dialogue process… You know that Russia has its own dialogue program with the Central Asian countries, which is extremely important for us… We have our own integration processes, and that is the task we are focusing on,” the Kremlin representative added.

The “C5+1” format – comprising five Central Asian countries and the United States – was established in 2015. Previous summits were held at the level of foreign ministers and experts.

However, the latest meeting on September 19 on the sidelines of the 78th Session of the United Nations General Assembly was the first time that the heads of state of the "C5+1" group met at the same time.

The six presidents meeting in New York include Joe Biden (USA), Kassym-Jomart Tokayev (Kazakhstan), Sadyr Zhaparov (Kyrgyzstan), Emomali Rahmon (Tajikistan), Serdar Berdimuhamedov (Turkmenistan) and Shavkat Mirziyoyev (Uzbekistan).

Source: https://baoquocte.vn/lan-dau-tien-6-nha-lanh-dao-my-va-trung-a-hoi-ngo-theo-the-thuc-c51-nga-noi-gi-243293.html