Russian President Vladimir Putin will meet his Kyrgyzstan counterpart Almazbek Atambayev in Russia's second largest city of St. Petersburg on Monday, Tass news agency reported.
The news comes amid speculation about the whereabouts of the Russian leader who has been missing from the public eye for quite some days now.
It will be the second meeting between the two presidents in 2015. The Kremlin press service said the agenda would include "key issues of further strengthening of Russian-Kyrgyz cooperation, primarily in trade-and-investment and cultural-and-humanitarian areas, and in the energy sector."
"It is also planned to exchange views on cooperation in the context of Kyrgyzstan's joining the Eurasian Economic Union," the press service added.
In their previous meeting in Russia's Black Sea resort city of Sochi in early February, the Russian president said Kyrgyzstan was one of Russia's strategic partners in Central Asia.
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"Kyrgyzstan attaches great significance to the development of relations with its key strategic partner, Russia. Our republic's joining the Eurasian Economic Union will open broad perspectives for extending bilateral ties in various spheres," Atambayev said back then.
Last week, Kyrgyzstan's Prime Minister Dzhoomart Otorbayev said his country planned to become a full-fledged member of the Eurasian Economic Union by May 9.
The Eurasian Economic Union, an international economic integration association, came into existence on January 1, 2015. It includes Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Armenia and Kyrgyzstan, which joined it later. Kyrgyzstan signed an agreement on accession to the Eurasian Economic Union in December 2014. To be granted a full-fledged membership in the organization, Kyrgyzstan plans to settle all technical issues by May.
