Russian President Vladimir Putin will meet his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping next week in Bishkek, where the two will participate in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit, Kremlin foreign policy adviser Yuri Ushakov said, quoted by Reuters. Among the main topics during the meeting will be the "Power of Siberia-2" gas pipeline project, which is expected to connect Russian gas fields in the Arctic with China via Mongolia, BTA listed.
The pipeline is expected to be about 2,600 kilometers long and have an annual capacity of 50 billion cubic meters of natural gas. However, the project remains blocked due to disagreements between Moscow and Beijing, including over the price of supplies. Negotiations on its construction have been ongoing for years without a final agreement being reached.
The meeting between Putin and Xi will take place against the backdrop of deepening energy and economic cooperation between Russia and China, with Beijing becoming one of the main markets for Russian gas after Moscow's sharp deterioration in relations with Western countries.
Putin is also expected to hold talks with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Bishkek. According to Ushakov, the two will discuss the war in Ukraine and the situation in the Black Sea. The Russian president will also hold separate meetings with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian.
The Kremlin, meanwhile, refused to comment on information about a possible new round of talks on Ukraine in September with the participation of the United States. Ushakov said he was familiar with the publications on the subject, but could not provide specific information. Earlier, the head of the Ukrainian President's office, Volodymyr Zelensky, said that a meeting of representatives of Ukraine, Russia and the United States could be held next month. The last trilateral talks with American participation took place in February, and since then the Russian and Ukrainian sides have held separate talks only with American representatives.
The Kremlin also expressed serious concerns about the arrests of opposition figures in Armenia. Ushakov said that the actions of the Armenian authorities are particularly worrying for Moscow, since among the detainees there are politicians who support traditionally close relations with Russia. He recalled that Armenia is striving for rapprochement with the EU and, according to Moscow, it will not be able to remain in the Russian-led Eurasian Economic Union at the same time.
The Russian president will also meet with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan in Bishkek. Relations between Moscow and Yerevan have deteriorated significantly since Pashinyan came to power in 2018, as Armenia gradually orients itself towards the West. Russia still maintains a military base in the country. Armenian authorities on Tuesday detained former President and prominent opposition leader Robert Kocharyan, who was charged with a series of corruption crimes committed during his time in power.
Meanwhile, the Kremlin said Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto would be the main foreign guest at the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok, which will be held from September 1 to 4. Subianto's participation is another sign of Moscow's desire to maintain close relations with major Asian countries amid Russia's continued international isolation by the West, Reuters reported.