Russian President Vladimir Putin began a state visit Wednesday in Tajikistan, a three-day trip that includes a series of meetings with leaders of other nations that once were part of the Soviet Union.

Trade and other ties with Tajikistan and other countries in Central Asia are increasingly important for Russia amid sweeping Western sanctions over its military action in Ukraine.

Putin arrived in the capital Dushanbe where he laid a wreath at the monument to the founder of the first Tajik state Ismoil Somoni and met with Rakhmon for an informal dinner.

On Friday, they will be joined by leaders of Armenia, Azerbaijan and Belarus for a broader meeting of the Commonwealth of Independent States, a loose alliance of other former Soviet nations.

Rakhmon, in power for nearly 33 years, is the longest-serving of all ex-Soviet leaders.

The 73-year-old former collective farm head came to power in 1992 following a devastating civil war that engulfed the country after the demise of the USSR.

He crushed or cowed all opposition to his rule soon after coming to power, and he later pushed constitutional changes that allow him to rule for life.

Russia has maintained a military base in Tajikistan, which shares a porous 1,300-kilometer (810-mile) border with Afghanistan.