Kazakhstan's President Nursultan Nazarbayev has opened a summit of former Soviet republics at Chimbulak ski resort outside the country's commercial capital, Almaty.

The informal summit of the Commonwealth of Independent States, CIS is expected to focus on security issues related to Afghanistan and Central Asia, as well as drug trafficking.

The meeting also is likely to be dominated by news that the United States plans to send as many as 200 U.S. soldiers to Georgia to help train and equip troops to secure the country's borders and fight terrorists.

Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov said Wednesday Moscow does not want U.S. forces on its doorstep.

Some information for this report provided by AP and AFP.

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