Presidents Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin turned Monday to slide west during a meeting of Eurasian leaders aimed at putting Beijing in front and regional relations center.
The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) is promoted as a non -western style of collaboration between 10 countries in the region and seeks to be an alternative to traditional alliances.
XI told the leaders, including Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko and the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, that the global situation was becoming more “chaotic and intertwined.”
The Chinese leader also criticized the “intimidation behavior” of certain countries, a veiled reference to the United States.
“The security and development tasks faced by Member States have become even more challenging,” he said in his speech in the port city of Northern Tianjin.
“With the world experiencing turbulence and transformation, we must continue following the spirit of Shanghai … and better perform the functions of the organization.”
Putin used his speech to defend the offensive of Ukraine of Russia, blaming the West for triggering the three and a half years conflict that has killed tens of thousands and devastated much of East of East of Ukraine.
“This crisis was not caused by Russia’s attack against Ukraine, but it was the result of a coup d’etat in Ukraine, which was supported and caused by the West,” Putin said.
The Ukraine Ministry of Foreign Affairs urged China to work towards La Paz during Putin’s visit, saying in a kyiv statement that “they would welcome a more active role” so that Beijing helps find peace “based on respect for the UN letter.”
Putin, meanwhile, praised Turkey’s mediation efforts in the conflict when he met the Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
And Putin later met his Iranian counterpart Masoud Peeshkian, said the Kremlin, and the couple is expected to discuss Iran’s nuclear program.
‘Always insightful’
Previously, leaders of the 10 countries: China, India, Russia, Pakistan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzista, Tayikistan, Uzbekistan and Belarus, posed for a group photo on a red carpet.
They saw Xi, Putin and Modi chatting, flanked by their translators. Modi and Putin were photographed holding hands and took talks in the afternoon.
Russian state media reported that the couple spent almost an hour talking “face to face” in Putin’s armored presidential car before an official meeting.
“The conversations with him are always insightful,” Modi published in X along with a photograph of them traveling in the car.
Before its meeting, Modi praised the “special and privileged strategic association” with Moscow and added that India wanted both parties in the Ukraine conflict “to find stable peace.”
‘Mutual trust’
The SCO Summit began on Sunday, days before a massive military parade in Beijing to mark 80 years since the end of World War II.
Member States signed a statement on Monday agreed to strengthen cooperation in sectors such as security and economy, said China Xinhua news agency.
Xinhua added that leaders also admitted Laos as an observer country, or “dialogue partner”, the summit already has 16 observers.
XI celebrated a lot of consecutive meetings with leaders, including Lukashenko, one of Putin’s firm allies, and Modi, who has been on his first visit to China since 2018.
Modi told XI that India was committed to “move forward our ties based on mutual trust, dignity and sensitivity.”
The two most populated nations in the world are intense rivals, competing for the influence in southern Asia, and fought against a deadly border clash in 2020.
A thaw began last October, when Modi met XI for the first time in five years at a summit in Russia.
His approach deepened when the president of the United States, Donald Trump, pressed both Asian economic giants with commercial tariffs.
More than 20 leaders attend the largest meeting in the block since it was founded in 2001.
Many of the gathered dignitaries will be in Beijing on Wednesday to see the military parade, which will also be attended by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
A train that transported Kim spent China early on Tuesday, Yonhap news agency in South Korea reported, citing the Northern State Radio Service.
