Putin and Xi Hold Summit in Kyrgyzstan, Strengthening Bilateral Cooperation

[Financial News] Russia's President Vladimir Putin and China's President Xi Jinping held a bilateral meeting in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, on the sidelines of the SCO summit and pledged to deepen cooperation between the two countries.
On the 31st of last month, AFP and other foreign media reported that President Xi told Putin, "Our bilateral relations have become even stronger, and the future looks brighter," adding that "uncertainty and unpredictability in the international order have increased noticeably." Putin responded, "Cooperation between our two countries is developing successfully in all areas."
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the two leaders briefly touched on the war in Ukraine. Western countries have been pressuring China to use its influence over Russia to end the war, but after more than four and a half years of fighting, Russia's economic dependence on China has deepened further.
Now in its 25th year, the SCO is a multilateral security and economic bloc that counters a Western-led international order. This year's meeting drew a large number of heads of state, including Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Damodardas Modi, and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
The summit is drawing global attention in particular because it is being held as Russia's invasion of Ukraine enters its fourth year and a half, and six months have passed since the outbreak of war between the United States and Iran.
The meeting has also attracted interest because it came shortly after reports that John Ratcliffe, director of the CIA, made a surprise visit to Russia to discuss the situations in Ukraine and Iran.
One month after the first exchange of fire between the United States and Iran, President Masoud Pezeshkian said in Bishkek that continuing the war does not serve Tehran's national interest.
He told Indian Prime Minister Narendra Damodardas Modi, "We are continuing to work to seek a path of agreement and understanding, and I believe continuing the war is not in our interest or in the national interest of the region."


[email protected] Yoon Jae-joon Reporter