Moscow: Russian President to meet Chinese, Turkish, and Iranian counterparts at Shanghai Cooperation Summit in Kyrgyzstan
Moscow announced on Thursday that Russian President Vladimir Putin will meet with his Chinese, Turkish, and Iranian counterparts, Xi Jinping, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and Masoud Pezeshkian, during the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit hosted by Kyrgyzstan on Monday and Tuesday of next week.
Russian news agency RIA Novosti quoted Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov as saying that these meetings will take place as part of a series of bilateral talks that President Putin will hold with the leaders of the countries participating in the summit, during which the attendees will discuss ways to enhance cooperation, particularly in the fields of security, drug control, and logistics.
Ushakov clarified that Putin will discuss the “Power of Siberia 2” gas pipeline project with Xi Jinping during their talks in Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan, while his discussions with Erdogan will cover developments in the situation in Ukraine and the Black Sea.
He added that Putin will also hold separate meetings on the sidelines of the summit with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan to discuss bilateral relations with their respective countries.
He noted that member-state leaders will sign around 20 documents following the summit, including the “Bishkek Declaration.”
The Shanghai Cooperation Organization was founded in 2001 and includes Russia, China, India, Iran, Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Belarus. It focuses particularly on security issues and combating “terrorism,” as well as ways to enhance cooperation among member states in the fields of economy, transport, and energy.
On a separate note, Ushakov said that Moscow does not have information regarding the possibility of resuming negotiations with Ukraine and the United States in September.
In a separate matter, Ushakov announced that Putin will deliver a speech during the plenary session of the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok on September 3, and will hold talks with Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto on the sidelines of the session, where Subianto will be the guest of honor.
