The Kremlin views the summit of Central Asian leaders in the C5+1 format, held in the United States, as a normal step in the development of foreign policy and the building of independent relations with partners, Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

Axar.az informs “This is the right of any state to shape its own foreign agenda,” he added.

Peskov pointed to Russia’s own version of such meetings — the Russia–Central Asia format — noting that Russia’s partners in the region discuss their relations “in all directions of their foreign policy.”

He explained that Russia is connected to many countries not only through bilateral relations but also through advanced integration processes.

C5+1 is a summit bringing together the United States and the five Central Asian countries — Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan.