Putin: Russia expanding economic ties with CIS despite Western sanctions

Russia's President Vladimir Putin attends an event dedicated to the 20th anniversary of the establishment of the Russian military base in the city of Kant, in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan October 12, 2023. Sputnik/Pavel Bednyakov/Kremlin via REUTERS

BISHKEK (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday said Russia was expanding its economic ties with countries of the former Soviet Union in spite of Western sanctions against Moscow.

Putin was speaking in Kyrgyzstan, a Central Asian nation with strong ties to Moscow, during what was his first foreign trip since the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant for him in March.