Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping convened for the second time in two months on Wednesday, this time in Kazakhstan, for a session of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO).
This international group, founded in 2001 by China and Russia, aims to address security concerns in Central Asia and counter Western alliances.
Their meeting coincides with the annual SCO session in the Kazakh capital of Astana. Other attendees include leaders from SCO member states such as Pakistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and Kyrgyzstan, with Belarus becoming a full member this year. Observer states and dialogue partners, including Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt, will also be present.
Iran’s acting President Mohammad Mokhbar attended due to the recent death of President Ebrahim Raisi, with a runoff election scheduled for Friday. U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev also participated.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India sent his foreign minister, reflecting India's attempt to balance relations with both Russia and the West.
The SCO’s primary value lies in the symbolic optics of non-Western countries gathering, despite significant political differences among members.
Russian state TV aired multiple sideline meetings between Putin and other leaders Wednesday. At his meeting with Xi, Putin praised the SCO as a pillar of a “fair, multipolar world order” and highlighted the strong ties between Moscow and Beijing. Xi emphasized China's diplomatic support for Russia and called for greater communication between countries.
The SCO session provides Kazakhstan and other Central Asian nations a platform to enhance cooperation with powerful neighbors like Russia and China while maintaining links with the West. None of the former Soviet republics in Asia have backed the war publicly, but all abstained from voting to condemn it.
The organization’s influence, though not a collective security or economic alliance, underscores the growing cooperation among non-Western countries amid global geopolitical tensions.
