PM Modi will almost certainly have a bilateral meeting with Putin

New Delhi: Chinese President Xi Jinping is likely to meet his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (YSCO) summit in Uzbekistan next month, reports in international media said. It is expected that this event can also mark the beginning of bilateral relations between India and China. Prime Minister Modi and President Xi can meet keeping the differences of the two countries aside.

India and China have not yet officially confirmed the personal participation of their leaders for the event to be held in Samarkand from September 15-16. Unlike Prime Minister Modi, who has traveled abroad this year for several multilateral and bilateral meetings, Xi Jinping has not stepped out of China since January 2020. However, according to a Wall Street Journal report on Friday, Xi may travel to Samarkand for a meeting of the regional security bloc and hold bilateral talks with Putin amid rising tensions with the US over Taiwan.

Putin keen on a personal summit in Samarkand
The report, quoting people involved in organizing the summit, also said that Xi Jinping may have similar meetings with leaders of India and Pakistan. However, it added that there is still confusion about his travel plans and he may choose to participate virtually. According to diplomatic sources, Putin is keen on a personal summit in Samarkand, which will focus, among other things, on the security and human rights situation in Afghanistan. Pakistan PM Shahbaz Sharif is expected to visit Uzbekistan for the summit.

If all the leaders attend the summit in person, Modi will almost certainly have a bilateral meeting with Putin and possibly Xi as well. While the process of disengagement along the border with China in eastern Ladakh is yet to be completed, both sides agree that the military standoff that began in May 2020 has been resolved at several points. India’s decision to host Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in March this year and the recent Chinese special envoy for Afghanistan made it clear that progress has been made in military and diplomatic talks. Both the meetings were proposed by the Chinese side.

China’s decision to twice block UN sanctions on Pakistan-based and India-focused terrorists has not gone down well with New Delhi. And that will be on the minds of Indian officials as they prepare for a possible summit with Xi. Terrorism is going to be one of the major issues that PM Modi will raise during the SCO summit, as he did at the virtual BRICS summit in June by calling upon member countries to respect each other’s security concerns. At the BRICS meeting, PM Modi had also called for mutual support in efforts to designate terrorists.