Mr. Putin will meet Mr. Xi, Mr. Modi for the first time since the Wagner mutiny.

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

Leaders will convene virtually on July 4th for the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Summit, a security group established by Russia and China to counterbalance Western alliances from East Asia to the Indian Ocean.

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

To date, the SCO has focused on strengthening economic and security cooperation, combating terrorism and drug trafficking, addressing climate change, and the situation in Afghanistan following the Taliban's rise to power in 2021.

When the foreign ministers of the SCO member states met in India last month, the Russia-Ukraine conflict was hardly mentioned on their agenda, instead focusing on concerns about food security and energy security.

In May, India announced that the SCO Summit would be held online instead of in person as last year in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, where Putin had 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 Southern Military District headquarters in Rostov-on-Don to return to their base, June 24, 2023. Photo: GZero Media

The SCO comprises four Central Asian countries: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan, in a region where Russia exerts significant influence. Other member states include Pakistan (which joined in 2017) and Iran, which is due to join the group on July 4th. Belarus is also awaiting membership.

No SCO member state condemned Russia in United Nations (UN) resolutions, opting instead for abstentions. China sent an envoy to mediate between Russia and Ukraine, while India repeatedly called for a peaceful resolution to the conflict.

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

"Putin will want to reassure his partners that he is still in power and there is no doubt that the challenges to his government have been suppressed," Madan said.

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

India's relationship with Moscow remained strong throughout the conflict in Ukraine, with the country acquiring record amounts of crude oil from Russia and relying on Moscow for 60% of its defense hardware. At the same time, the US and its allies actively courted India, which they viewed as a crucial counterweight to China.

India's main priority at the forum is balancing its relations with the West and the East, with Delhi also hosting the G20 Summit in September .

Minh Duc (According to AP, Indian Express)

Source