Putin to hold bilateral meetings during SCO summit - Kremlin aide

MOSCOW, June 4. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin will hold a number of bilateral meetings on the sidelines of the upcoming Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit, Kremlin Aide Yuri Ushakov told reporters. "SCO summits, just like other summits, provide a good opportunity to hold bilateral meetings," he said, adding that "we have planned a number of bilateral meetings this time as well." The Russian presidential aide pointed out that there would also be a trilateral meeting involving Russia, China and Mongolia. "We continue consultations on this meeting," Ushakov said, noting that "the meeting’s participants will mostly discuss economic issues." Ushakov added that the first trilateral meeting was initiated by Mongolia at a meeting of the SCO Council of Heads of State held in Dushanbe in September 2014. Russia, China and Mongolia reached an agreement then to hold such summits on a regular basis. This time, leaders of the three countries are expected to exchange views on ways to boost trilateral cooperation in various areas, the implementation of a road map on cooperation and a program to establish a Russia-Mongolia-China economic corridor. According to the Kremlin aide, Putin is also planned to hold bilateral meetings with Mongolian President Khaltmaagiin Battulga, President of Pakistan Mamnoon Hussain, President of Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev. Bilateral meetings While speaking about Putin’s planned bilateral meeting with his Mongolian counterpart, Ushakov said that the two leaders would not only discuss pressing regional and global issues but also pay attention to Russian-Mongolian interaction within multilateral organizations, as well as to cooperation with the SCO and the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU). The Kremlin aide noted that the fight against the threat of terrorism would be the focus of Putin’s meeting with the president of Pakistan as Russia had been assisting the country in improving its counterterrorism capacity. Putin is expected to exchange views on pressing global issues with the president of Tajikistan, the Russian presidential aide went on to say, adding that the two countries had coordinated positions within international organizations such as the United Nations, the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), the SCO and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). The same can be said about Russia and Uzbekistan, Ushakov said, adding that the two leaders planned to focus on the fight against international terrorism. Putin will discuss a number of regional issues with the Iranian president, Ushakov said, which will particularly include the situation surrounding the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) for Iran’s nuclear program and preparations for the Fifth Caspian Summit. The SCO summit will take place in the Chinese city of Qingdao, Shandong province, on June 9-10. Read more