Putin to meet Xi, Modi for first time since Wagner mutiny

Russian President Vladimir Putin will attend the first multilateral summit since the armed Wagner rebellion rocked Russia. The event will also be attended by Chinese President Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Leaders will gather online on July 4 for the summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), a security grouping created by Russia and China to counter Western alliances from East Asia to the Indian Ocean.

This year’s event is hosted by India, which became a member in 2017. It is the latest avenue for Mr. Modi to showcase the South Asian nation’s growing global influence.

So far, the SCO has focused on strengthening economic and security cooperation, fighting terrorism and drug trafficking, addressing climate change and the situation in Afghanistan after the Taliban takes power in 2021.

When foreign ministers of SCO member states met in India last month, the Russia-Ukraine conflict was barely on their agenda, with concerns over food security and energy security taking precedence.

In May, India announced that the SCO summit would be held online instead of in person as last year in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, where Mr Putin posed for photos and dined with other leaders.

World - Mr. Putin will meet for the first time with Mr. Xi and Mr. Modi since the Wagner mutiny — Members of the Wagner group prepare to withdraw from the headquarters of the Southern Military District in Rostov-on-Don to return to their base, June 24, 2023. Photo: GZero Media

The SCO includes four Central Asian states – Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan – in a region where Russia has deep influence. Other members include Pakistan, which joined in 2017, and Iran, which will join the group on July 4. Belarus is also waiting to become a member.

No SCO member state has condemned Russia in UN resolutions, instead choosing to abstain. China has sent an envoy to mediate between Russia and Ukraine, while India has repeatedly called for a peaceful resolution to the conflict.

According to Tanvi Madan, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, this conference will be an opportunity for Mr. Putin to reassure his partners after the 36-hour mutiny that Wagner group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin launched in Russia on June 24.

“Mr Putin will want to reassure his partners that he is still in power and that there is no doubt that challenges to his government have been quelled,” Mr Madan said.

Earlier, in a phone call with the Indian Prime Minister on June 30, Mr. Putin informed about recent developments in Russia, while Mr. Modi understood and supported the decisive actions of the Russian leadership to protect law and order, ensure domestic stability and security of the people, according to a Kremlin statement on the phone call.

India’s ties with Moscow have remained strong throughout the conflict in Ukraine, it has bought record amounts of crude oil from Russia and relies on Moscow for 60% of its defense hardware. At the same time, the US and its allies have aggressively courted India, which they see as a key counterweight to China.

India's main priority at the forum is to balance its relations with the West and the East, with Delhi also hosting the Group of 20 (G20) Summit in September .

Minh Duc (According to AP, Indian Express)

Source