Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in Kazakhstan on Wednesday to participate in crucial regional security and defense discussions, as well as to hold a series of bilateral meetings with other world leaders, including those from China and Turkey, according to a statement from the Kremlin.
The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), a security alliance founded by China and Russia in 2001 to enhance stability in the Eurasian region, will convene for its summit on July 3-4 in Astana, Kazakhstan’s capital.
“The leaders of the SCO member countries will discuss the current state and prospects for further deepening multifaceted cooperation within the organization and improving its activities,” the Kremlin noted on its website.
The summit is expected to be largely influenced by the participation of Russia and China. However, leaders or representatives from a broad array of nations—including Azerbaijan, Belarus, India, Iran, Kazakhstan, Qatar, Kyrgyzstan, China, Mongolia, the United Arab Emirates, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Turkey, and Uzbekistan—are also anticipated to attend. United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is also expected to be present, according to Russian news agencies.
Ahead of the summit, Russia confirmed that Putin will engage in a series of bilateral discussions, including significant meetings with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is scheduled to visit Moscow later this month, will not attend the summit in person. Instead, India will be represented by Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, as confirmed by the Indian Ministry of External Affairs on Tuesday.
During last year’s virtual summit, the SCO issued a statement criticizing what it referred to as the negative impact of the “unilateral and unlimited expansion of global missile defense systems by certain countries or groups of countries.” While the statement did not explicitly mention NATO or Western military support for Ukraine, the implication was clear.
