At the summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), Russian President Vladimir Putin met with the leaders of China, India, Turkey and Iran, as well as speaking with the heads of the former Soviet republics.
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No real results during the summit Vladimir Putin never achieved. And most importantly, no one in Samarkand supported Putin’s militarism. In addition, the Russian president’s interlocutors spoke publicly with him about peace.
Putin, stuck in a confrontation with the West due to the war in Ukraine, has repeatedly stated that Russia is not isolated, because it can reorient itself eastwards towards large Asian states such as China and India.
What the Western press has written about Putin
The Daily Telegraph writes that Putin did not keep his comrades waiting for his arrival, as happened in the past. This time he had to wait.
“Observers noted that Putin did not have his typical aura of lead at the top,” writes British Daily Telegraph. – On Thursday he was forced to wait for the president of Kyrgyzstan before meeting in front of the camera, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan he also left Putin for a few minutes in front of the cameras.
Another important point that the Western press writes about is the absence of the leaders of China and India at the evening meeting “without ties” organized by the President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyev.
How writes Washington Post, Putin’s meeting with world leaders at the SCO summit “gives the Russians a useful signal for the Kremlin on its continuing important role on the world stage”.
Photo: Associated Press
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But if Putin attended the dinner and posed for a joint photo, Cand Jinping decided to refuse and from dinner, and from the photo shoot.
At Putin’s meeting with the Indian prime minister Narendra Modiand the disagreement was specific enough.
Modi opened the meeting with a speech on the need for “democracy, diplomacy and peace” and welcomed the opportunity to “discuss progress towards peace”. In a dialogue with the Russian president, Modi bluntly stated that “the current era is not an era of wars”.
Reporters write that when Mode made this remark, the head of the Kremlin pursed his lips, looked at Mode, and then looked down before touching his hair on the back of his neck.
“I know your position on the conflict in Ukraine, your concerns, which you constantly express,” Putin replied. “We will do everything to ensure that this stops as quickly as possible.”
Putin’s meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping at the SCO summit was the first since Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24.
Observers were interested, in the first place, that the Russian president had publicly acknowledged that China had “questions and concerns” about the Ukrainian conflict.
Previously, China refrained from criticizing Russian aggression on international platforms, which Putin noted when he thanked Xi for his “restrained stance”.
—-Photo: Associated Press
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Indeed, even before the meeting between Putin and Xi Jinping, an event took place that showed that China is not so much an ally as a competitor of Russia. Before arriving in Samarkand, the head of China visited the capital of Kazakhstan. During talks with the president of this country, Kasim-Zhomart Tokayev, his words on the guarantees of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Kazakhstan were heard.
“In Samarkand the Russian president was a rather zealous supplicant, recognizing that China may have “questions and concerns” about the war it promises to answer. The Chinese leader in his public address spoke of the “responsibility of a great nation to play a leading role in bringing stability to a troubled world” – and in these comments you can see the hidden criticisms, “writes the author of the Washington. Post.
—-Photo: Associated Press
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The summit, where the Chinese and Russian presidents met, showed that “Putin’s failed war in Ukraine weakens Russia’s influence” in Central Asia, writes British analyst Timothy Ash. He believes that instead of Russia, China will gain more influence in Central Asia, as will Turkey in the North Caucasus.
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