Russia and China have never had such a good relationship as they do today. This is according to President Vladimir Putin in Kazakhstan, where he met his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping.
The two leaders are participating in the SCO summit in Kazakhstan's capital Astana.
On his way into the 50-minute meeting, Putin called Xi his "old friend".
The Chinese leader said that he hopes for continued friendship.
In a world with turbulent events and a (threatening) external environment, we must continue to maintain our friendship for many generations to come, he said.
The Kremlin reports that the two barely touched on the subject of Ukraine, but according to spokesperson Dmitrij Peskov, they agreed that negotiations about Ukraine's future are "meaningless" without Russian participation.
Not Building New Alliances
When the two leaders last met, in May, Putin said that "a new multipolar world is being created before our eyes", primarily aimed at the USA. On Wednesday, he said:
Our cooperation is not directed against anyone, we are not building new blocks or alliances, we are only acting in the best interests of our citizens.
Russia and China have expanded their economic cooperation in recent years, and their strategic partnership has grown since Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine.
Just days before Russia launched its large-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, China promised an "unlimited partnership" between the countries.
Erdogan in Attendance
Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is also attending the SCO meeting. He also met with Putin for a private meeting on Wednesday. The two discussed, among other things, the nuclear power plant in Sinop in northern Turkey, which the country has long sought international cooperation on, previously also with the USA.
Despite all the difficulties in the world, the relationship between Russia and Turkey is improving step by step, Putin said after the meeting and promised an upcoming state visit.
SCO (English abbreviation for Shanghai Cooperation Organisation) is a regional security organization in Asia.
SCO has its roots in the Shanghai Five alliance, which was the result of a meeting in 1996 between the leaders of Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, and Tajikistan. A few years later, in 2001, Uzbekistan joined and the organization adopted its current name. Since 2018, India and Pakistan have been full members after being observers for several years. In July 2023, Iran became a full member.
Afghanistan, Belarus, and Mongolia have observer status in the organization, while Turkey is a "dialogue partner".
According to plan, Belarus is to be elected as the tenth full member on Thursday.
SCO primarily focuses on regional security, such as agreements to reduce military forces along common borders, and perceived terrorist threats.
Source: National Encyclopedia
