Aligning positions and planning for the future. An informal meeting of the leaders of the CIS countries took place the day before in St.Petersburg. The President of Belarus also took part in it. The pre-New Year summit of the heads of state of the Commonwealth has already become traditional. As a rule, the event takes place in the city on the Neva river. This time the Konstantinovsky Palace in Strelna was chosen as the venue. Starting from the new year, the chairmanship of the CIS will pass to Russia.