TURKMENBASHI (Turkmenistan), October 9. /TASS/. The Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) Council of Interior Ministers has been tasked with developing a set of measures to establish a joint contact center within the Commonwealth to combat cybercrime, Uzbekistani President Shavkat Mirziyoyev said at a meeting of the CIS Council of Heads of State in a narrow format.

"Cybercrime is growing at a particular rapid pace today. It affects ordinary citizens, businesses, banks, and government systems, and therefore requires constant attention and close cooperation among our countries," Mirziyoyev later said at an expanded meeting.

The president added that terrorism, extremism, and cybercrime "have long surpassed the borders of individual states."

The CIS Heads of State Summit, chaired by Turkmenistan, is taking place in a narrow and expanded format at the Avaza National Tourist Zone in the city of Turkmenbashi on Friday. Russian leader Vladimir Putin is participating in the summit. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian is participating in the event for the first time. Russian Presidential Aide Yury Ushakov said that a wide range of topics would be discussed during the summit’s closed-door sessions. The diplomat also did not rule out the possibility that Putin would brief his CIS colleagues on the progress of the conflict in Ukraine.