Xi and Putin set out ambitions for Eurasian security club
Adds more Putin, Xi quotes, meeting of Indian and Chinese foreign ministers
ASTANA, July 4 (Reuters) - China's President Xi Jinping and Russia's Vladimir Putin pressed their case on Thursday for closer security, political and economic cooperation between countries of the vast Eurasian region as a counterweight to Western alliances.
They were speaking on the second and final day of a summit in the Kazakh capital Astana of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), a club launched in 2001 by Russia, China and Central Asian states and now including India, Iran and Pakistan.
"SCO members should consolidate unity and jointly oppose external interference in the face of the real challenges of interference and division," Xinhua news agency quoted Xi as saying, warning against the West's "Cold War mentality".
President Putin, in his address to the SCO, reiterated Russia's call for "a new architecture of cooperation, indivisible security and development in Eurasia, designed to replace the outdated Eurocentric and Euro-Atlantic models, which gave unilateral advantages only to certain states".
He once again blamed the West for the war in Ukraine and said Russia was ready to freeze the conflict if Kyiv and its backers accepted Moscow's terms for talks.
Putin said last month the proposednew Eurasiansecurity pact shouldbe open to all countries across the region, including currentNATO members. But the aim, he said,should be to gradually remove all external military presence from Eurasia, a clear reference to the United States.
The SCO nations represent new key buyers of Russian commodities such as oil and gas, as Western sanctions imposed over the Ukraine war have forced Moscow to pivot towards Asia.
'MULTI-POLAR WORLD'
Putin also hailed on Thursday the increasing use of national currencies - instead of the dollar - in trade between SCO countries and called for the creation of a new payment system within the group.
Western sanctions have left Moscow cut off from traditional payment systems such as SWIFT, while hundreds of billions of dollars in Russian foreign reserves remain frozen.
"The multi-polar world has become reality," Putin said. "More and more countries support a fair world order and are ready to vigorously defend their legal rights and traditional values."
Separately, India's Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar met his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi on the sidelines of the SCO gathering and agreed to step up talks to resolve issues on their border which have soured ties since an armed clash in 2020.
Reporting by Pavel Mikheyev
Writing by Olzhas Auyezov; editing by Guy Faulconbridge and Gareth Jones
Latest News
Disclaimer: The XM Group entities provide execution-only service and access to our Online Trading Facility, permitting a person to view and/or use the content available on or via the website, is not intended to change or expand on this, nor does it change or expand on this. Such access and use are always subject to: (i) Terms and Conditions; (ii) Risk Warnings; and (iii) Full Disclaimer. Such content is therefore provided as no more than general information. Particularly, please be aware that the contents of our Online Trading Facility are neither a solicitation, nor an offer to enter any transactions on the financial markets. Trading on any financial market involves a significant level of risk to your capital.
All material published on our Online Trading Facility is intended for educational/informational purposes only, and does not contain – nor should it be considered as containing – financial, investment tax or trading advice and recommendations; or a record of our trading prices; or an offer of, or solicitation for, a transaction in any financial instruments; or unsolicited financial promotions to you.
Any third-party content, as well as content prepared by XM, such as: opinions, news, research, analyses, prices and other information or links to third-party sites contained on this website are provided on an “as-is” basis, as general market commentary, and do not constitute investment advice. To the extent that any content is construed as investment research, you must note and accept that the content was not intended to and has not been prepared in accordance with legal requirements designed to promote the independence of investment research and as such, it would be considered as marketing communication under the relevant laws and regulations. Please ensure that you have read and understood our Notification on Non-Independent Investment. Research and Risk Warning concerning the foregoing information, which can be accessed here.
