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The Times of Central Asia, 30 Jan 2017
Russian President Vladimir Putin will in the near future visit Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan, Russian media reported citing Russian President’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov.

"This will be a tour of Central Asian republics," TASS quoted Peskov as saying on January 27.

At the meeting of the Tajik-Russian Intergovernmental Commission for Trade and Economic Cooperation held in Dushanbe on January 27, Russia’s First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov said that Putin plans to visit Tajikistan in the nearest weeks.

"Indeed, President will make a couple of trips," Peskov was quoted by TASS. "There will be a visit to Tajikistan. We attach significance to preparations, and the meeting of the intergovernmental commission [in Dushanbe] is part of this run-up," he said.

“We outlined a concrete plan of measures to ensure that the upcoming visit of Vladimir Putin [to Tajikistan] be successful. We hope the agenda of the upcoming talks at the top level will not have any lack of understanding,” Tajikistan’s Avesta news agency quoted Russian First Deputy Prime Minister Shuvalov as saying on January 27. 

He also noted decreasing trade between Tajikistan and Russia. “There is a real reason for that. Russia is leaving behind the difficult economic period and entering a growth phase. We do hope that with Russia’s GDP growth, Tajikistan’s economy will be developing as well,” Shuvalov said. 

Tajik media suggest that talks between Putin and Tajik President Emomali Rakhmon would focus on Tajikistan’s possible entry to the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU). 

In the meantime, 24.kg news agency cited its source in the Kyrgyz Foreign Ministry as saying that Vladimir Putin is to arrive in Kyrgyzstan on February 28.