Putin and Xi affirm strategic alliance amid ‘unpredictable’ world

The Russian and Chinese leaders met in Kyrgyzstan on the sidelines of the SCO summit, being attended by over a dozen heads of state.

Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin have reaffirmed their strategic alliance amid growing global uncertainty, as they met on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Kyrgyzstan.

In their first meeting since May, Xi told Putin on Monday that he was “happy” to meet again. He told the Russian leader, whose country is engaged in a fifth year of war on Ukraine, that bilateral ties between Beijing and Moscow have grown “more solid”.

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That should continue despite increased “uncertainty and unpredictability in the international order,” he added. China has consistently denied giving Russia material support for its assault on its neighbour.

Xi told Putin that there are “even brighter” prospects ahead for relations between Beijing and Moscow, although “the amount of uncertainty and unpredictability in the international order has obviously increased,” Xi said.

Putin agreed, saying that “cooperation is successfully developing on all fronts”.

Shadows of war

The two-day SCO summit in the Kyrgyz capital, Bishkek, marks the 25th anniversary of the regional security and economic grouping.

Over a dozen heads of state are attending, including Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, along with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan as a dialogue partner.

The summit takes place four-and-a-half years into Moscow’s Ukraine invasion and six months into the war between the United States and Iran.

Putin and Xi have previously used SCO summits to promote their vision of a multipolar world and present a united front against the West.

Due to Western sanctions over its invasion of Ukraine, Russia’s economy has become increasingly dependent on China. That has seen Western countries call on Beijing to pressure Moscow to end its offensive.

However, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Russian media that the two leaders largely discussed economic relations, and only talked on the Ukraine war “in passing”.

Putin also met with Modi, with the leaders arriving in the same car for scheduled talks.

Modi said New Delhi is ready to work for an end to the conflict in Ukraine. The Russian leader said Moscow was “following the path” towards a resolution, without elaborating.

Peace talks, brokered by the United States, remain stalled. However, reports last week said that CIA Director John Ratcliffe had visited the Russian capital for talks.

‘Path of agreement’

Putin is also expected to hold separate talks with Pezeshkian.

Russia and Iran are among the most sanctioned states in the world and have deepened military and economic ties since Moscow invaded Ukraine. Iran has supplied drones for Russia’s ongoing invasion.

US President Donald Trump has warned Moscow and Beijing against arming Iran. US media speculated that as well as Ukraine, Ratcliffe sought to convey a warning to Russian counterparts that Moscow should refrain from supplying weapons to Tehran.

Speaking in Bishkek after the first exchange of fire between the United States and Iran in a month, Iran’s Pezeshkian said continuing the war was not in Tehran’s interests.

“We continue to strive for a path of agreement and understanding, and we believe that continuing the war is neither in our interest, nor in the interest of the region,” he told India’s Modi.

Putin, Xi, Pezeshkian, Modi and Sharif are due to take part in a plenary session chaired by Kyrgyzstan President Sadyr Japarov.

On top of the 10 members of SCO, the alliance now has 15 “dialogue partners”, including Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Qatar. It also has two observer countries: Afghanistan and Mongolia.

While the bloc claims to represent some 40 percent of the world’s population and 25 percent of global GDP, it remains diverse, with disagreements among members.