0756GMT//Putin flies to Tajikistan; North Korea sends 'IT specialists' to Russia

PUTIN FLIES TO TAJIKISTAN: Vladimir Putin has arrived in Dushanbe for his first official State Visit to Tajikistan. He has visited Tajikistan a dozen or so times as Russian president, but this is his first State Visit. (COMMENT: This is an important visit for Putin. Bilateral talks are expected to focus on security and relations with the Taliban in Afghanistan. Tajikistan is also hosting the head of state meeting for CIS countries. These are Russia's natural allies.)

PUTIN AND ALIYEV TO MEET: Putin and Ilham Aliyev, Azerbaijan's president, are due to meet for the first time in a year at a meeting of heads of CIS states in Dushanbe this week, the Kremlin has said. (COMMENT: Relations between Azerbaijan and Russia have collapsed over the past year. Azerbaijan has become a vital 'link' country for Russia as it sits on a new North-South trade route to India. Both men will be keen to patch up their differences.)

NORTH KOREAN 'IT SPECIALISTS': North Korea has started sending "IT specialists" to Russia, the media reported. It said that a company linked to North Korea's Red Star Technology Exchange Company has set up an office in Vladivostok. (COMMENT: A North Korean "IT specialist" could well be a euphemism for something else. We know that North Korea scientists have been helping develop drone technology in Russia. We also know that North Korea has sent thousands of construction and agriculture workers to Russia. Russia does have a shortage of IT specialists, a sector it was once a world leader in, but this shortage is unlikely to be plugged by North Korea.)