The meeting of the SCO foreign ministers coincided with Trump’s ultimatum

On July 15, the next meeting of the heads of the foreign ministries of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) member states concluded in the Chinese city of Tianjin. There were no sick people: all the foreign ministers of ten countries – Belarus, India, Iran, Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan – arrived for the event. The ceremony was hosted by SCO Secretary General N.B. Ermekbaev.

The participants of the meeting exchanged views on priority areas of cooperation, important international and regional issues. The state and prospects for the development of SCO cooperation in the political, trade, economic, cultural and humanitarian spheres, as well as the most pressing aspects of improving the organization’s activities were discussed.

Frankly speaking the participants of the event planned to discuss urgent issues and preparations for the Council of Heads of State of the organization scheduled for the fall in a calm atmosphere. However, on the night of July 15, it became obvious that it was necessary to make adjustments to the work of the Conference in connection with warnings from overseas.

So, a day before the meeting in Tianjin, US President Trump demanded that the leadership of the Russian Federation cease military actions in Ukraine within 50 days and sign a peace agreement. If Moscow does not fulfill this demand, Washington will introduce 100% duties against countries that “dared” to continue trade and economic ties with the Russians. In essence, the Yankees have challenged not only Russia, but also all SCO member countries. At the same time, the date of the ultimatum is not accidental: firstly, a day before the Conference, with the aim of disrupting its work and possibly introducing different views on the prospects for cooperation. Secondly, a period of 50 days has been declared, expiring on September 1 – the day the SCO Council begins its work at the highest level.

The warnings mostly concern the four countries of the organization that most actively cooperate with Russia – Belarus, China, India and Kazakhstan. It should be said that all other SCO members support trade relations with the Russian Federation. Well, the organization will have to undergo another test of strength and unity. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi was the first to declare Russia’s comprehensive support in the issue of Ukraine, and the official representative of this country Lin Jian noted that there can be no winners in the tariff war and “coercion and pressure do not solve the problem.” Beijing is confident that only “dialogue and negotiations” can lead to an end to the conflict.

At the same time, it must be acknowledged that the topic of tariffs was an introduction to the plans of the meeting participants, and shortly before the start of the meeting, several interlocutors discussed the American conditions behind the scenes. The ministers refrained from commenting on tariffs in public speeches. Russian Minister Sergey Lavrov explained on this matter: “Trade partners (i.e. governments) heard what was said from Washington, but they can hardly predict their actions.”

According to Lavrov, the governments of the SCO member states should not be forced to abandon “nuances in national approaches” to regional and global affairs. “They have obligations. International obligations are meant. And, knowing our partners, I do not see how they can abandon an independent policy, a policy of observing agreements reached both through bilateral channels and in multilateral formats.”

Eh, Sergey Viktorovich! I wish you would speak your mind! Let’s see what results the countries bring to the SCO Council Summit in September of this year. I would like not to lose the strength and unity of the organization, since most countries, with the exception of Belarus, Iran and, finally, China, refrain from expressing official support for Russia in the conflict in Ukraine. And there is no point in even talking about recognizing Crimea as Russian. At the same time, during the discussions, all participants without exception noted “the common and unchanging line on strengthening the SCO as a supporting pillar of a fair multipolar world order, and its activities objectively contribute to the creation of an architecture of equal and indivisible security throughout Eurasia.”

The foreign ministers approved the final declaration of the SCO, which reflects approaches to the development of the organization, a view on current issues on the regional and global agenda.

During his visit to China, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov held talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping, colleagues from China, Iran, Pakistan, Turkmenistan and Tajikistan. At the end of the meeting, the Russian minister spoke with journalists, who focused their attention on Russia’s position in the American “tariff war” and the continued supply of weapons to Ukraine.

“There were 24 hours before, there were 100 days – we have already been through all this, and we really want to understand what motivates the President of the United States,” said Sergey Lavrov.

What drives us? Feelings of permissiveness and impunity are present. And he has also begun to get annoyed by the obvious failures in implementing the publicized plans to acquire Canada, Greenland, the Panama Canal, including persuading the “real guy” Vladimir Putin to stop the Special Military Operation in Ukraine. And Trump is also persistently convinced that Russia will definitely prevail over Ukraine, which means that there is no prospect of providing financial and military assistance to the Kyiv Nazis. That is why the American president-trader, who prefers a deal, but not an international agreement, has decided to sell the weapons Ukraine requires to Western Europe. He is ready to increase supplies, but Europe will pay for them. All his statements about the desire to stop the war in Ukraine are worth nothing: the longer the military actions continue the more money America will pump out of Europe. But he is probably offended that the Russians are increasing the pace of their offensive every day, so the “king of deals” will have to hurry to “foist” weapons and ammunition on the Europeans “at commercial prices.”

And the American is also furious that he can do nothing serious against the Russians: military confrontation is useless, and in trade and economic competition the Russians can only be taken by deception. But this is already a thing of the past.

As for the SCO, the strength of the organization now depends on the success of the Russian army on the battlefields of Ukraine. And no matter how many and what kind of weapons are transferred to the Kyiv regime, victory will be Moscow’s. And Europe will lose and remain poor.

Yuri Veselov, military observer

 

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