Off to Astana and SCO Summit

Team Putin’s bus arrives in Astana, Kazakhstan’s capital. Here’s the initial Kremlin readout:

July 3-4 Leaders SCO member states will discuss the state and prospects for further deepening multifaceted cooperation within the Organization and improving its activities. An exchange of views will take place on current international and regional problems.

Following the meeting, the Astana Declaration and other joint Documents.

Provides meeting in the "SCO plus" format, to which the leaders of the observer states and dialogue partners of the SCO, the heads of the international organizations and guests of Kazakhstan's chairmanship.

In Astana, the President of the Russian Federation also plans to hold a number of important bilateral conversations with the heads of state participating in the summit.

Indeed, those meetings are already occurring and began with a meeting with Mongolia’s president Ukhnagiin Khurelsukh

Vladimir Putin: Dear Mr. President, Dear friends!

I am very glad to see you again.

This year we are celebrating a significant date-85 years of victory [in the battle] on the Khalkhin Gol River against the Japanese aggressors.

In general, relations between our countries have been developing on the basis of a very positive and solid foundation of cooperation and friendship for decades.

It should be noted that last year we registered a slight decrease in trade volumes, but this year we see a significant increase, a good pace was gained in the first half of this year.

Relations in the humanitarian sphere continue to develop. I would like to note that the quota of Mongolian students to study in Russia is one of the largest – 620 people. We are ready to continue working on this and increase it.

I spoke about our trade and economic ties, but if necessary, especially if Mongolia is facing problems that are based on climate change, we try to provide gratuitous assistance, including grain, other goods, and energy.

By the way, energy has been and remains one of the main areas of our cooperation. The work is well established, but we can also talk about expansion, I mean both hydrocarbons and the electric power industry, there is something to talk about here.

I am very pleased to have the opportunity to exchange views with you today on the whole range of our relations, including coordination in the international arena. We are actively working on the UN platform, on the platforms of other organizations – in particular, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.

The agreement between Mongolia and the Eurasian Economic Community is currently being finalized, and I think this will be another good step that will not only strengthen the formal legal framework of our relations, but also create real new opportunities for expanding our cooperation.

I'm very glad to see you.

And of course, I congratulate you on the victory of your party in the parliamentary elections. It is clear that you left the party for constitutional reasons when you ran for President, but nevertheless it is not a stranger to you, and the victory of the party in the elections, of course, also falls into the piggy bank of your domestic political work in this case. So congratulations.

: (as translated)At.Khurelsukh Thank you, dear Vladimir Vladimirovich.

I am very happy to meet you again today.

I would like to express my gratitude and congratulate you on your re-election as President of the Russian Federation, which is proof that the Russian people give you all possible support and support the development policy of your country. Therefore, on my own behalf and on behalf of the Mongolian people, I once again congratulate you on your re-election. I think this is a result of your policy being correct.

As you correctly noted, a few days ago we held regular parliamentary elections, and the Mongolian People's Party won the majority of votes and can form its own government. We will have 126 members of parliament under the new Constitution of Mongolia.

Over the past year, our economic situation has also improved markedly. In short, the volume of real economic growth was 7.2 percent, while inflation after covid was 6 percent.

Last year, during the Belt and Road Forum in Beijing, we discussed a wide range of issues with you, as well as with the members of your delegation, in particular trade and economic issues.

Last year, the 25th meeting of the Mongolian-Russian Intergovernmental Commission was held, and it was very productive and fruitful.

During the first half of this year, Deputy Prime Minister Alexey Overchuk and Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources Alexander Kozlov met with their colleagues and discussed a wide range of issues of bilateral relations. The IPC leadership and Co-chairs have been very active, very proactive, and we are very happy about this state of affairs.

This year, our cooperation is rich in various anniversaries: the 85th anniversary of the victory at Khalkhin Gol, as well as the flagship of our bilateral cooperation, Joint-Stock Company UBZhD [Mongolian-Russian Joint-Stock Company Ulaanbaatar Railway] is celebrating the 75th anniversary of its establishment. We celebrate these anniversaries with great achievements.

Also, expedition work was carried out to identify the remains of Red Army soldiers who died on the territory of our country. We hope that as part of the celebration of these anniversaries, you will also celebrate with us and pay a visit to our country.

Our bilateral cooperation in all areas has been developing very well in recent years. I would particularly like to mention the activities of UBZhD. Last year, 5 million tons of cargo transportation was carried out by UBR, which was a record increase.

We have increased transit traffic from Europe, Eurasian transit routes, and increased cargo traffic from Europe to China. We think that this will be a good opportunity to increase the capacity of UBZhD. Such a need is overdue, and one of the three economic trade corridors is the UBZhD. We need to build a parallel railway and electrify our existing road.

There is also a project to build a railway connecting the Russian Far East and the People's Republic of China through the eastern part of Mongolia. As well as the western direction, which connects the Republic of Tuva through the western part of Mongolia with its Chinese partners. Thus, we may have new economic development corridors that will favor trilateral cooperation between Russia, Mongolia and China.

Therefore, we attach great importance to the implementation of the Transit Mongolia project, which is a very large project that is of great importance for the economy. We are very much looking forward to the implementation of the gas pipeline project, we are waiting for a political decision from both the Russian and Chinese sides, and we hope that this project will still be initiated.

We are experiencing a large energy deficit. The economy is growing, and the demand in the energy sector is also growing. My Chinese colleagues and I have built the Erdeneburen hydroelectric power station, and this project is very actively developing. At our meeting in Beijing, I told you that it would be good to conduct a similar project with the Russian Federation, I am talking about the Egiin-Gol hydroelectric power station project. Of course, we are aware of environmental issues, and we are ready to solve them together with the Russian side.

As you read, business expansion between Mongolia and Russia will happen and be a win-win for both. Next up on the sidelines was Azerbaijan and president Ilham Aliyev

A different view of how the sideline meetings look as it’s not just the heads of state that meet. Here’s the readout which is shorter since they recently met:

Vladimir Putin: Mr President, I am very glad to see you again.

The scope of our interaction is large. And if we met every month, I think we'd have a lot to talk about.

I would like to draw your attention to the fact that our relations are developing positively on a key issue, namely trade and economic cooperation. More than $ 4 billion in trade turnover and $ 4.3–4.5 billion in direct Russian investment in the Azerbaijani economy. The trend is good: in the first half of the year, in my opinion, growth is already 13 percent, in general, everything is developing positively.

I would like to mention our plans in the field of infrastructure, and of course, here the well – known North-South highway comes first. I hope we will also say a few words about this. There are opportunities in other areas, including energy and industrial cooperation.

We operate on the basis of the agreement that we signed with you at the end of 2022. This is a good basis for developing relations in all areas.

I will also mention the humanitarian component, since, in my opinion, the Days of Russian Culture in Azerbaijan have just ended. And I always note your personal special attention to the support of the Russian language, more than 300 schools in Azerbaijan work with the Russian language, teach young people and children the Russian language. This creates a good basis and perspective for maintaining and developing our relations in the future.

I'm very glad to see you.

I. Aliyev: Thank you, Vladimir Vladimirovich! I'm very glad to see you again.

As you mentioned, there are a lot of questions, but, in principle, we meet almost once a month. I last visited Moscow in the second half of April, so we will meet again in more than a month. This means, as you mentioned, that there are a lot of issues that are being very successfully resolved. And, of course, the growth of trade turnover-both last year and this year – is a demonstration that the economies of our countries are actively cooperating.

It is gratifying that mutual settlements in national currencies are also growing: for Azerbaijani exports to Russia, it is already more than 70 percent, and for Russian exports to Azerbaijan – about 50 percent. So what we discussed a few years ago is already being successfully implemented.

Humanitarian cooperation has always formed the basis of our cooperation. And I am grateful to you for always noting and appreciating the attitude towards the Russian language, Russian culture and literature that exists in Azerbaijan. The Days of Russian Culture in Azerbaijan, which were held with great success, once again confirm this.

We have about a million students studying in Russian: 150 thousand - in Russian schools, and 800 thousand learn Russian as a second language. In other words, this means that the future generation of our citizens will also actively interact and speak Russian in the same way as you and I do.

We discussed the North – South project last time in Moscow. There have been positive developments since then, and we'll talk about that later. We are determined to expand the infrastructure of the corridor on Azerbaijani territory, although it physically exists, but it does not correspond to the intentions of our partners and neighbors to maximize the use of this project.

Just as you mentioned, there are new ideas in the energy sector, and our respective structures are in constant contact. We'll also talk about this today. And in all other areas.

As you noted, in 2022 we signed the Allied Declaration, which is being successfully implemented and all the points of the declaration are reflected in real life. We have been working together as allies for more than two years and are showing good results. We'll talk about this in more detail today.

Thank you again for the opportunity to see you.

IMO, Armenia needs to oust president Pashinyan as his favoring EU/NATO is not at all in the interests of Armenia and its people. Now, if the Georgians continue their return to the Eurasian orbit, the South Caucasus will stabilize and grow even faster. As the first two meetings emphasized, transport corridors are big for all Eurasia.

Next is Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. He’s eager as we’ll read:

Vladimir Putin: Dear Mr. Prime Minister,

I am very glad to see you again. We met two years ago, also on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in Samarkand. We discussed bilateral relations and our cooperation in the international arena.

I should note that during this time, relations between our countries have been developing in a businesslike and friendly manner. I note an increase in trade turnover, and the prospects here are very good.

I would like to pay special attention to two areas. First of all, this is cooperation in the field of energy and agro-industrial business. Our energy supplies to Pakistan have started, and we are ready to increase them. At your request, Russia is also trying to contribute to ensuring food security in Pakistan. We are increasing grain supplies to the Pakistani market.

Our Ministries of Foreign Affairs cooperate in international organizations, on international platforms, as I have already said, including the UN platform.

Dear Mr. Prime Minister,

Our relations are friendly and have been developing for decades, and we are very happy about this. And I hope that our meeting today will serve to further strengthen bilateral ties between Pakistan and Russia.

I am very glad to see you, Mr. Prime Minister!

:(as translated)Sh.Sharif Thank you very much, Mr. President!

Indeed, it is a great honor and pleasure for me to meet you again after our meeting in Samarkand on the sidelines of the SCO summit.

I would like to congratulate you once again on your re-election as President of Russia. I am convinced that the Russian Federation will make more progress thanks to your able leadership.

Mr. President, I am very glad that our bilateral relations are developing rapidly. We have seen this happen in recent years, and we are very encouraged by it. I would like to work closely with you to further strengthen our relations. We have a lot to do and can benefit from your experience.

Of course, we can also strengthen our trade. At the moment, the trade turnover is $ 1 billion, and at my request, you kindly gave us the opportunity to increase our energy cooperation. We have received oil supplies from your great country, and we are very grateful for that. We must continue to follow this path.

Your Excellency,

Our relations are self-sufficient, they do not depend on any geopolitical situations or conjuncture. Nor do they depend on relations with other countries. Pakistan has a long-standing business relationship with your great country.

If you remember, I told you last time that in the 50s, 60s, and 70s we had a trade turnover under the terms of barter. We imported a lot of equipment and products from the Soviet Union, exported textiles and leather to your country. And all this was done on the terms of barter. It seems to me that now is the time to overcome the financial and banking problems and resume and expand our trade relations under the terms of barter. This would be very good for Pakistan. We could overcome many other challenges.

Mr. President,

Once again, I would like to thank you for this opportunity. Let me assure you on my own behalf, on behalf of the people of Pakistan, that we would really like to further strengthen our relations.

By “barter” IMO the use of national currencies is meant. It appears that the removal of Mr. Khan hasn’t hurt Pakistan’s standing within the SCO or with its main trade partner, China. As indicated, Russia’s rise as an agricultural power along with its energy prowess puts it into a similar situation that was enjoyed by the Outlaw US Empire for decades, although Russia’s policy direction in those areas is rather different—Russia’s aim isn’t to promote dependency but augment supplies while helping nations to become as self-sufficient as possible, essentially the opposite of US hegemony.

Next up is Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan who’s an SCO Dialog Partner:

Vladimir Putin: Dear Mr. President,

Colleagues, friends, I am very glad to see you.

Mr. President, we are in regular contact and exchange views on the situation between our countries, on the situation in the region and in the world as a whole on a regular basis. But it's really been a long time since we've seen each other. I am very glad to see you again.

I would like to note that, despite all the difficulties of the current situation in the world, relations between Russia and Turkey are developing steadily. We note a slight decline in trade turnover over the past few months, but it remains at a fairly high level – $ 55 billion, if we count in dollar terms.

All our major projects are being implemented. In this sense, everything is going according to schedule, according to plan. There are no failures. I would like to note that last year we probably saw a record number of our tourists in Turkey – 6.3 million tourists from Russia visited Turkey. I would like to thank you for the conditions created in Turkey for the citizens of the Russian Federation.

New projects are also planned, and we are very happy about this, as well as the opportunity to meet with you today and sum up the results of last year's work in a personal conversation, and outline the prospects for what we will do in the near future.

Of course, we continue to work actively in a number of important areas of international policy, and we are in constant contact with you. Our ministries and departments constantly exchange information and coordinate positions in key areas. We work on the platforms of international organizations and in the framework of international associations. We are very happy to see you and meet you at one of them – on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.

I am very happy to see you again, Mr. President.

: Erdogan Recep Tayyip President of the Republic of Turkey Dear Mr. President,

For a long time, my dear friend and I did not manage to meet, we had "telephone diplomacy". But meanwhile, the relevant authorities were in constant contact with each other. This applies to our Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Treasury, and the Minister of Energy and Natural Resources. They were in constant contact with their colleagues from Russia. We are here with you now. This is a very important step.

As for the Akkuyu nuclear power plant, we are building it together. We hope that we will be able to put it into operation as soon as possible. Following this, we have contacts in Sinop regarding the construction of a second nuclear power plant. We can take serious steps, and I believe that there will be serious steps.

As for this issue, I would like to note that our Ministry of Natural Resources and Energy continues to maintain contacts with its colleagues from Russia. As a result of these meetings, I would like to note that contacts between Botash and Gazprom continue on a sincere basis.

As you said, the trade turnover of $ 25 billion is very small. We have set a goal to reach the $ 100 billion mark, and I believe that we will reach this mark. We have such potential in this area.

And as for the tourism sector, about 7 million tourists will visit our country, which is very important. We will be hosting Russian tourists in our country, we attach great importance to this and we are sincere about this issue, we are resolute about this issue. I would also like to note that we will continue to work in this direction. The main thing is that Russian tourists are satisfied with our hospitality.

Our country's route is strong and strengthening, and we want to continue developing warm relations between Russia and Turkey.

I also want to mention one more thing. I will be waiting for you in my country as soon as possible, Mr. President.

The relationship between Russia and Turkey is rather fascinating when viewed historically. Currently Turkey wants to become both an SCO and BRICS member, which would likely oblige it to cease its NATO affiliation. How that dance will be conducted will prove entertaining. It’s obvious that Turkey has lots to gain as a transit conduit between Asia and Europe.

Currently the last sideline meeting is with Xi Jinping: a short chat:

Vladimir Putin: Dear Mr. Chairman, Dear friend!

Dear Chinese colleagues and friends,

We are all glad to see and welcome you again, this time on the sidelines of the SCO summit.

Let us begin our meeting with the conclusion of our previous meeting. I remember how warmly you received us all in China. On my own behalf and on behalf of all my colleagues, I would like to thank you for this hospitality.

We held very thorough negotiations, signed a joint program statement and launched the cross-cultural years. Then, during our visit to Harbin, we were all able to once again see how close the historical ties between Russia and the People's Republic of China are.

If we go back to today's event, to tomorrow's event, I would like to remind you that our countries were at the origins of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization in 2001. With the expansion of the circle of participants, and tomorrow Belarus will become a full member of the organization, the organization has strengthened its role as one of the key pillars of a just multipolar world order. Of course, we will support China's chairmanship in the SCO in 2024-2025.

We have repeatedly stated with good reason that the Russian-Chinese relations of comprehensive partnership and strategic cooperation are experiencing the best period in their history. They are built on the principles of equality, mutual benefit and respect for each other's sovereignty. Our cooperation is not directed against anyone. We don't create any blocks or alliances. We are simply acting in the interests of our peoples.

A series of events dedicated to the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between our countries, which is being celebrated this year, continues.

Trade is growing. We also noted this during my visit to the People's Republic of China. And today we can state this once again. In the first half of this year, we note a positive trend.

At present, joint efforts are aimed at consistent implementation of the plan for the development of key areas for the development of Chinese economic cooperation until 2030, which was approved following your visit to Moscow in March 2023.

It is noteworthy that humanitarian exchanges are expanding in all areas. Mutual tourist flow is growing. Last year, it totaled over 1.2 million trips. And in January-May of this year, more than 260 thousand people used the visa-free group tourism channel alone.

Russian-Chinese cooperation in world affairs is one of the main stabilizing factors in the international arena, and we continue to strengthen our cooperation in this area.

This year we are chairing the BRICS, also an organization created on our initiative, and we look forward to the participation of our colleagues and to your participation in the summit in Kazan in October this year.

Thank you.

: Xi JinpingPresident of the People's Republic of China Dear Mr. President Putin, My dear friend,

I am very happy to meet you again.

Indeed, holding a meeting on the sidelines of multilateral events is not only a good tradition between us, but also the embodiment of the high level of Sino-Russian relations.

In May of this year, you successfully made a state visit to China, which allowed us to outline priority areas for further development of our relations in the 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations.

The agreements reached between us are now being fully implemented, and our multifaceted cooperation is steadily progressing along the planned course. In a far-from-simple international and external situation, we need to remain committed to friendship forever, work hard for the well-being of our peoples, enhance the unique value of Sino-Russian relations, cultivate new drivers of cooperation, and make untiring efforts to protect our legitimate rights and interests, as well as the basic norms of international relations.

Tomorrow's Astana summit will be the most important event of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization this year. I am ready to have a very thorough conversation with you and our other colleagues on strengthening the SCO and cooperation in various fields, and to contribute to the sustainable development of our organization in the interests of forming a closer community with a common destiny for the SCO.

Thanks for attention.

The Kremlin website has added the next meeting with the events host, Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and his team

K.-Zh.Tokayev: Mr President, I am very glad to see you in Astana.

I would like to express my gratitude for your participation in this summit. You know that Kazakhstan is chairing the Shanghai Cooperation Organization this year. This is a very honorable, but at the same time responsible mission. Tomorrow I will report on the work that was carried out under our chairmanship. I believe that a lot of work has been done, and a lot of events have been held. The organization itself is undergoing reforms, although this is not an easy task.

And, of course, the activities of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization are being improved. It has gained the necessary authority in the international arena. In my opinion, this is one of the most successful international organizations that currently exist, in the current situation. And besides, it is inherently democratic. That is, the principle of equality of all states is observed there.

And of course, I cannot but mention Russia's huge contribution to strengthening the potential of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. In this regard, as Chairman, I would like to express my gratitude to you.

As for bilateral cooperation, it has been developing in an upward direction since your very important and historic visit last November. I personally monitor the implementation of the agreements reached and the agreements signed. The projects that were agreed upon during your visit are very important and, in fact, embody the strategic nature of cooperation between our states. Therefore, I have no doubts that they will be implemented, since they correspond to the interests of Kazakhstan and, of course, the Russian Federation.

I would like to take this opportunity to invite you to pay another visit to Kazakhstan in November this year, to combine it with participation in the meeting of the Supreme Council of the Collective Security Treaty Organization. I believe that this is absolutely necessary in order to maintain the current pace of cooperation between our countries, and I hope to see you again on a state visit to our country.

Vladimir Putin: First of all, thank you for the invitation, Kassym-Jomart Kemelevich.

We can see what efforts Kazakhstan has made to prepare the current event. It is just beginning, but the full scale of this event is already visible. It is certainly international in nature. Not formally, but from a meaningful point of view. That's the first thing.

Secondly, I would like to note that Kazakhstan, on the one hand, and Russia, on the other, lead and preside over a number of international organizations and hold forums. You are in the SCO and CSTO, and Russia is in BRICS and the CIS. Therefore, we will support and help each other.

I would like to thank you for the invitation to pay a state visit to Kazakhstan. Of course, it is most rational to do this in connection with the CSTO summit. We will definitely do this, and I am grateful for your invitation, which is certainly accepted.

As for our bilateral relations, we are in constant contact with you. But still, I can't help but note that the trade turnover is growing, reaching almost $ 30 billion, or more than $ 28 billion, which is a very solid figure. Russia remains one of Kazakhstan's main trade and economic partners, accounting for more than 17 percent of its trade turnover.

We have many important areas, a very high degree of cooperation and many interesting projects. I suggest we talk about this today, too.

K.-Zh.Tokayev: All right.

And so events are off to a rapid start. As usual, Russia’s press corp is present and Pavel Zarubin caught Mr Lavrov for a short Q&A that provides an interesting twist:

Question: How did the talks with the head of China go?

Sergey Lavrov: Excellent. Full understanding.

Question: What issues were discussed in the first place today?

Sergey Lavrov: The entire range of issues on our agenda, both in terms of bilateral cooperation and our interactions in the international arena, in the UN, BRICS, the SCO and in other formats.

Question: Did you discuss the Ukrainian settlement, our peace plan, President Vladimir Putin's plan?

Sergey Lavrov: These are well-known positions. China firmly supports a peaceful settlement. We share this approach. We have repeatedly commented on Chinese initiatives.

But you know that Ukraine refuses any negotiations. By executive order Vladimir Zelensky, it banned itself from holding talks with Russia. And the West does not want Ukraine to stop this war, which it unleashed against us with its hands.

At this point, our well-known Vovan and Lexus recently spoke with Hillary Clinton (on behalf of Petr Poroshenko), who said bluntly that "no way" and "we must continue their common cause." That, in fact, is where we are now.

Yes, the link goes to the RuTube website and the video that records the “prank” and provides this citation: “Hillary Clinton called on Ukraine to go on the offensive at the front so that Biden is re-elected in the United States.” I’m rather certain that Martyanov will provide an amusing reaction at his site later today. Sputnik has this article about it. Yes, there are other events happening like the meeting with the Afghans who’re Dialog Partners and congratulating the Belarus team on their Independence Day and 80th anniversary of Minsk’s liberation from the Nazis—Belarus will become a full SCO member at the Summit. Sputnik also offers this article about the SCO and its Summit. IMO, this event is far more pivotal for geopolitics than the G-7.

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