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Russian President Vladimir Putin, center, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliev, left, and Armenian President Robert Kocharian seen during a meeting in Astana, Kazakhstan, Wednesday, Sept. 15, 2004. Leaders of former Soviet republics gather in Astana for CIS summit. The CIS, Commonwealth of Independent States, is a loose alliance of 12 former Soviet republics. (AP Photo/ITAR-TASS, Presidential Press Service)