(Reuters) -Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in Tajikistan in Central Asia on Wednesday to attend meetings with leaders of other ex-Soviet republics likely to focus on regional development and their relations with Moscow.
A Kremlin announcement said Putin would take part, beginning Thursday, in a Russia-Central Asia summit, also to be attended by the leaders of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.
They will then be joined by the leaders of Armenia, Azerbaijan and Belarus at a meeting of the broader Commonwealth of Independent States bringing together former Soviet republics.
Putin limits his foreign travel in connection with an order for his arrest by the International Criminal Court issued over the deportation of Ukrainian children in the more than 3-1/2-year-old war.
But as the war continues, he has shown increased interest in developing ties with Russia's Asian neighbours, including a "no limits" partnership with China and cooperation with North Korea, including the dispatch of Pyongyang's troops to take part in the Ukraine conflict.
Putin will be trying to bolster ties with Central Asian states and to guard against the re-emergence of periodic bouts of instability in the region attributed to border disputes or internal quarrels between rival groups.
After the 1991 collapse of Soviet rule, Tajikistan was gripped by a five-year civil war in which tens of thousands died.
Russia's Defence Ministry on Wednesday said Minister Andrei Belousov held talks on military cooperation with his Tajik opposite number Emomali Sobirzoda.
"A lot today depends on cooperation between our two military institutions, most importantly, stability in Central Asia," the ministry quoted Belousov as saying. "The current situation remains very difficult."
Russian influence has waned in the region in recent years, with Kazakhstan, for instance, adopting a carefully balanced position on Moscow's war in Ukraine.
Putin was to meet Tajik President Emomali Rahmon, the longest-serving ex-Soviet leader, in office since 1992, as part of a state visit.
At the last Russia-Central Asia summit in 2022, Rahmon berated Putin for failing to treat the region's nations with sufficient respect.
The Kremlin leader's discussions with Central Asian leaders are also certain to focus on the position of several million migrant workers from the region who earn wages in Russia to be sent home in remittances.
Putin was also due to meet President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan, with which Russia has had strained relations in recent months.
(Reporting by Reuters; editing by Diane Craft)
