President Vladimir Putin said Tuesday that the Russian people were “united as never before,” as he sought to project confidence in the wake of a short-lived revolt, at a meeting of a rare international organization where he can find a sympathetic audience. The Shanghai Cooperation Organization meeting, hosted via videoconference by India, was Putin’s first multilateral summit since an armed rebellion rattled Russia and comes as he is eager to show that the West has failed to isolate Moscow over its 2022 invasion of Ukraine. The Asian security grouping, founded by Russia and China to counter Western alliances, also welcomed Iran as a new member, bringing its membership to nine nations. Speaking by video link from the Kremlin, Putin praised the organization for “playing an increasingly significant role in international affairs, making a real contribution to maintaining peace and stability, ensuring sustainable economic growth of the participating states, and strengthening ties between peoples.” He thanked the member states for supporting Russian authorities during the short-lived armed mutiny mounted by Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin, and said the West had turned Ukraine into “a virtually hostile state — anti-Russia.” Putin has frequently lashed out at the West for its support of Ukraine in the war. The summit presents an opportunity for Putin to show that he’s in control after an insurrection that left some wondering about divisions among Russian elites. “The Russian people are united as never before,” he said. “The solidarity and responsibility for the fate of the fatherland was clearly demonstrated by the Russian political circles and the entire society by standing as a united front against the attempted armed rebellion.” Earlier speakers avoided directed references to the war, while bemoaning its global consequences. In his opening speech, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi warned of global challenges to food, fuel and fertilizer supplies but didn’t mention the war in Ukraine. Trade in all three has been disrupted by the war. He also took a veiled swipe at Pakistan, saying the group shouldn’t hesitate to criticize countries that are “using terrorism as an instrument of its state policy.” “Terrorism poses a threat to regional peace and we need to take up a joint fight,” Modi said without naming Pakistan. India regularly accuses Pakistan of training and arming insurgent groups, a charge that Islamabad denies. In his speech, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif denounced terrorism and defended his country’s role in the fight against it. “While the sacrifices made by Pakistan in fighting terrorism are without parallel, this scourge continues to plague our region and remains a serious obstacle to the maintenance of peace and stability,” Sharif said. “Any temptation to use it as a cudgel for diplomatic point scoring must be eschewed.” Sharif also hailed the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, part of China’s Belt and Road Initiative, saying it could be a “game changer for connectivity, stability, peace and prosperity in the region.” The SCO also includes the four Central Asian nations of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, all former Soviet republics in which Russian influence runs deep. India and Pakistan became members in 2017. Belarus is also in line for membership. Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi said that “the benefits of the official membership of the Islamic Republic of Iran in the SCO will be historic.” Raisi’s speech, cited by the Iranian […]

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