Tianjin: Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday praised an initiative dubbed "the new world governance" order declared by Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping during the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit. The initiative came at a crucial time and proved helpful for opening new horizons of cooperation among states of the world and bolstering partnerships among states that participated in the SCO summit, Putin was quoted as saying during a news conference marking the end of his visit to China.
According to Kuwait News Agency, Putin did not elaborate on the so-called and aspired "new world governance." However, he had personally expressed a desire to establish a financial network of cooperation among regional nations, free from Western influence. Xi reportedly called at the summit for creating an SCO development bank and announced USD 28 million worth of grants plus USD 1.4 billion in loans for SCO members.
Elaborating at the news conference, Putin said that "documents that had been adopted at the summit pave the way for a new course in international relations." Putin revealed an agreement to establish a gas pipeline to China, saying that Beijing would be supplied with energy at "fair prices." He affirmed that China's needs for energy have been mounting.
On Ukraine, Putin said he foresees "light at the end of the tunnel," indicating a willingness to resolve the issue with diplomacy. He, however, re-stressed that Moscow would resort to military means "if necessary."
The latest SCO summit was held in Tianjin, China. The 25th Heads of State Council meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) was held from August 31 to September 1. The SCO was established in 2001 by China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. In June 2017, it expanded to eight states, with India and Pakistan. Iran and Palestine joined the group in July 2023, and Belarus in July 2024. Several countries are engaged as observers or dialogue partners.