MOSCOW, 17 Sep. On Friday, Russian President Vladimir Putin will take part in a meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) dedicated to the 20th anniversary of its creation due to the need to observe the self-isolation regime via videoconferencing. This week, Putin called Tajik leader Emomali Rahmon and said that he will not be able to personally come to the summits of the CSTO and SCO, since in connection with the identified cases of coronavirus in his environment, he must observe the regime of self-isolation. On Thursday, the head of state clarified that this is not about one or two cases, but about several dozen people. The president himself, according to his press secretary Dmitry Peskov, regularly takes tests, while the head of state is vaccinated with Sputnik V.
The Kremlin explained why Putin will not come to the SCO and CSTO summits Thursday, Putin participated in a remote format in a meeting of the leaders of the countries of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO). The President of Russia is not the only one who takes part in the events in Dushanbe via video link — the President of the People's Republic of China Xi Jinping and the Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi have chosen the same format. The SCO is an international organization founded in 2001 by the leaders of China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan. and Uzbekistan. The SCO observer countries are Afghanistan, Belarus, Iran and Mongolia, the partner countries are Azerbaijan, Armenia, Cambodia, Nepal, Turkey and Sri Lanka. In 2021, the organization is chaired by Tajikistan. Following the meeting, it is planned to adopt the anniversary Dushanbe declaration and the signing of more than 30 documents related to the life of the organization. In addition, the heads of state are expected to make decisions on launching the procedure for admitting Iran as a full-fledged SCO member state and granting the status of a dialogue partner to Egypt, Qatar and Saudi Arabia.
Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Summit participants will also discuss the results of the SCO's activities over 20 years, the state and prospects of cooperation within the organization. In addition, the heads of state will exchange views on topical issues of regional and international cooperation, consider joint steps within the SCO to overcome the consequences of the crisis caused by the novel coronavirus pandemic.
