CIS Daily Bulletin, April 17

Below is a summary of events in the Commonwealth of Independent States on April 17:

Armenia:

* Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan will visit Russia next week, a Kremlin aide said

Azerbaijan:

* A potential gas deal between Russia and Azerbaijan will help diversify energy supplies and ensure energy security, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said

Belarus:

* President Alexander Lukashenko said he was committed to cooperation with the European Union, but refused to engage the country's opposition to improve relations

Georgia:

* NATO's decision to hold exercises in Georgia next month threatens to complicate ties with Russia, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said

Kyrgyzstan:

* The bodies of the 16 people who died when a landslide hit a village in south Kyrgyzstan's Jalal-Abad province have been recovered by rescue workers, an emergency services spokesman said

Moldova:

* The makeup of the new Moldovan parliament was unchanged by the recount of votes from the April 5 poll, the secretary of Moldova's Central Election Commission said