Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Vladimir Putin IN Xi Jinping, they will sit at the same table in the context of the 24th Session of the Council of Heads of State of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.
However, it is not yet known whether the three men planned a “behind closed doors” meeting!
The President of China, as announced today by the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, will participate in the regional summit and make official visits to Kazakhstan and Tajikistan, from July 2nd to 6th.
“President Xi will attend the 24th meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization to be held in Astana” and pay official visits to Kazakhstan and Tajikistan, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Sungying said in a statement.
Beijing has recently stepped up its diplomatic efforts in Central Asia. The Chinese president called for deepening economic relations during a summit hosted by China in May and attended by leaders of the region’s countries.
The official visits are taking place at the invitation of the President of Kazakhstan, Kasim-Yomart Tokayev, and the President of Tajikistan, Emomali Rahmon, the statement added.
Erdogan and Putin
There will, however, be the Russian president, as well as his Turkish counterpart, as Ankara admitted that Tayyip Erdogan will meet with the Russian leader at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit, on July 3 and 4, in Kazakhstan.
Furthermore, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said that Erdogan would “very likely” meet Putin in Kazakhstan “in the coming days.”
In your comment on AFPThe Turkish Foreign Ministry confirmed Erdogan’s possible meeting with Putin in Astana.
Erdogan and Putin last met in September 2023 in Sochi, Russia, while Fidan visited Russia in early June, where he participated in the BRICS meeting and was received by Putin and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
Erdogan was preparing to welcome Putin to the Turkish Republic in February, but the Russian leader’s visit was postponed.
But now it will be… the three of them!