Putin to meet with leaders of China, India, Turkey and Azerbaijan at SCO summit

On the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit, Russian President Vladimir Putin will hold talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and heads of other states. For the first time in three years, the SCO Heads of State Council meeting will be held in person in Samarkand on September 15-16.

Presidential aide Yuri Ushakov told reporters that the summit program had already been agreed upon. In his opinion, the summit is of a special nature, since it is taking place against the backdrop of “large-scale geopolitical changes, the rapid irreversible transformation of the entire complex of international relations and relations in politics and economics.” Now, according to him, “a new model is being established, based on genuine multipolarity and dialogue.”

The leaders of 15 states will take part in the summit in Samarkand, Ushakov said. Of these, eight leaders represent the SCO countries: Russia, India, Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. In addition, the leaders of the “observer states” of the SCO – Belarus, Iran and Mongolia will participate. There will also be guests of the summit – the leaders of Azerbaijan, Armenia, Turkmenistan, Turkey. Ushakov emphasized the participation of Turkey, recalling that it is a NATO country, but shows great interest in the work of the SCO, “realizing that this is an important regional platform.”

The summit will be unique in terms of the number of considered applications from states that are ready to join the SCO in various formats, Ushakov said. According to him, a memorandum of commitment of Iran will be signed in order to obtain membership in the SCO, which means that at the next summit in India in 2023, the country will be a full member of the SCO. Also in Samarkand, the process of registration of membership in the organization of Belarus will begin. In addition, memorandums of partnership for dialogue with Egypt, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia will be signed. Decisions will also be made to launch a procedure for granting a similar status to Bahrain, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Myanmar and the Maldives.

“The SCO offers a real alternative to Western-centric structures and mechanisms, since all SCO members are committed to building a more representative, democratic, fair and multipolar world order, which is based on the universally recognized principles of international law,” Ushakov said. According to him, all SCO members are in favor of equal cooperation between countries with the central coordinating role of the UN in the spirit of justice, equality, and consideration of mutual interests. Ushakov stressed that the activities of the SCO are of a non-aligned nature and are not directed against any states.

At the same time, the presidential aide recalled that the SCO is the largest regional organization in the world, which unites about half of the world’s population, and the total GDP of the SCO countries is about a quarter of the world’s.

The summit will touch upon issues related to increasing the potential of the SCO in the field of ensuring security and stability, strengthening economic ties, the development of transport connectivity, and cultural and humanitarian topics, Ushakov said.

Putin will speak at the meeting of the SCO in a narrow format and in an expanded one, where he will set out in detail his vision of the tasks facing the organization and propose measures to improve its activities. According to Ushakov, the results of the summit will be recorded in the SCO Samarkand Declaration, which will reflect the consolidated position of all countries on the development of the SCO and on topical issues on the global and regional agenda. It is expected that the summit will also adopt a significant package of documents – more than 20, including a five-year plan for the implementation of the provisions of the agreement on long-term good neighborliness, friendship and cooperation for 2023-2027. and a roadmap for a gradual increase in the share of national currencies in mutual settlements.

Ushakov stressed that bilateral and multilateral meetings on the sidelines of the summit will be no less important. Putin will have meetings with President Sadyr Japarov of Kyrgyzstan, Serdar Berdimuhamedov of Turkmenistan, Ebrahim Raisi of Iran, Pakistani Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif, Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev (he is scheduled to be awarded the Order of Alexander Nevsky), Xi, Modi, Erdogan and Aliyev. In addition, there will be a traditional trilateral meeting of the leaders of Russia, China and Mongolia, which is always held in conjunction with SCO meetings.

The meeting with Xi will be the second in a year – the first was in February during Putin’s visit to China for the opening of the Olympics. According to Ushakov, given the current international situation, this meeting is of particular importance. “The presidents will discuss both the bilateral agenda and major regional and international topics,” the presidential aide said. According to him, the topics of Ukraine and Taiwan will be touched upon.

Ushakov recalled that China is approaching the Ukrainian crisis “in a balanced way, clearly declaring its understanding of the reasons that forced Russia to launch a special military operation.” The issue of trade and economic cooperation between Russia and China will also be discussed. In 2021, trade turnover between the countries amounted to $140 billion, and in the first seven months of 2022 it increased by a quarter, amounting to $93 billion.

Putin met with Modi in December 2021, when the Russian President was on a visit to New Delhi. According to Ushakov, trade with India is growing, supplies of Russian oil, coal, fertilizers are increasing, and measures are being taken to expand the use of national currencies in mutual settlements. They will also discuss international issues and the situation in the Asia-Pacific region at the meeting. Ushakov recalled that India will chair the UN Security Council in December 2022, and in 2023 India will chair the SCO and the G20.

Putin met with Iranian President Raisi for the last time at the Caspian Summit in June in Turkmenistan. At the meeting in Samarkand, the heads of state will discuss bilateral relations and the issue of granting Iran full membership in the SCO. Ushakov also added that the situation with the Iranian nuclear deal would be discussed, and recalled that Russia was in favor of restoring the deal in the configuration that was established in 2015.

Putin will also have a talk with Erdogan. They last met in August in Sochi. The heads of state will discuss the “grain deal” and economic issues in continuation of the Sochi agreements.

The agenda of the meeting with the Turkish President in Samarkand will be Syria, which has now aggravated the situation in Karabakh, as well as the “grain deal”, which Putin expressed dissatisfaction with the day before, says Fyodor Lukyanov, editor of Russia in Global Affairs magazine. The central issue remains the situation in Ukraine. Turkey claims to be a mediator between Moscow and Kyiv. This is the only real contender for this role now in this matter, the expert continues.

The SCO attracts a lot of attention because it is the organization that takes responsibility for Central Asia in matters of international cooperation, Lukyanov said. The SCO countries will play a big role and have a significant impact on world events, Lukyanov said. The focus remains on the Asian countries and Uzbekistan itself as the host country.

Because of the sanctions, it is important for Russia to establish economic cooperation in the Central Asian region. Thus, now the economic development of Russia will largely depend on whether it will be possible to involve the SCO countries in this development, Lukyanov concludes.

Now there is an increase in the independence of non-Western countries, which significantly accelerates the formation of a multipolar world, says Dmitry Suslov, Deputy Director of the Center for Comprehensive European and International Studies at the National Research University Higher School of Economics. In the context of such global trends, the role of the SCO in world affairs will increase, which is very important for Russia, which is leading a hybrid confrontation with the West.

According to Suslov, the quality and intensity of Moscow’s relations with Beijing, New Delhi and other non-Western centers will determine Russia’s economic strength and its survival as a great power. Therefore, the expert notes, Putin’s meeting with Xi and Modi will become a vivid symbol of a multipolar world order, and strengthening ties with India and China will confirm the inability of the West to win the global confrontation.

Gleb Mishutin and Anna Karavanova participated in the preparation of the article