By Alexandra Sharp
Welcome back to World Brief, where we’re looking at Modi, Putin, and Xi’s virtual meeting at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit, the Swedish prime minister’s White House visit, and warnings of potential Russian sabotage at Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.
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A Show of Unity
Members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation are seen during a virtual meeting in Moscow on July 4.Kremlin Press Office/Handout/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
Russian President Vladimir Putin, Chinese President Xi Jinping, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and the leaders of six other Eurasian nations met virtually on Tuesday for the annual Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit. Hosted by India, the event focused on promoting regional stability and cooperation to counter Western dominance while downplaying the many conflicting priorities and serious disagreements among the major member countries.
Much of the dialogue centered on Russia’s war in Ukraine—despite numerous leaders never explicitly mentioning it. The meeting was Putin’s first multilateral summit since the paramilitary Wagner Group’s June rebellion, and he used it to try to counter public perceptions that his leadership at home has been weakened. India cautioned others about dwindling food, fuel, and fertilizer supplies due to the war, and the bloc opposed the “unlimited expansion of global missile defense systems,” implying NATO expansion and Western support of Ukraine.
Regional cooperation on trade and investment also featured heavily at the summit. China and Russia encouraged using local currencies instead of the U.S. dollar to conduct foreign trade to counter Western sanctions against SCO member states. And six of the nine bloc nations promoted Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) as a concrete method to improve regional infrastructure and coordination. These Chinese investments could be a “game-changer for connectivity, stability, peace, and prosperity in the region,” Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said.
Yet despite the outward show of bonhomie, it was clear that not every SCO member state was on the same page. India continued to oppose China’s BRI because it would run through the disputed Kashmir region, which both New Delhi and Islamabad claim ownership of. The summit also took place almost two weeks after Modi’s meeting with U.S. President Joe Biden, where the two leaders said they aimed to become “among the closest partners in the world.” India maintains tense ties with China over unresolved border disputes that led to violent skirmishes in 2020.
The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation faces a fragile peace among its members. However, the bloc’s power is certainly growing. This year, the summit welcomed Iran into the fold as well as paved the way for Belarus to join in 2024. Coming up next, leaders convene for the annual G-20 summit in India in September, with Russia, China, and the United States all expected to be in attendance.
Today’s Most Read
What We’re Following
Negotiating NATO’s future. Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson took a trip across the Atlantic on Wednesday to showcase continued U.S. support for Swedish NATO membership. Stockholm’s biggest disadvantage of waiting on the bloc’s sidelines is its exclusion from alliance operational planning, FP columnist Elisabeth Braw argued, which is why “NATO and some of its members are taking such pains to communicate how closely Sweden is already working with them.” Specifically, Biden and Kristersson discussed challenges toward adding Sweden to the bloc, which requires unanimous approval but has continuously been challenged by Turkey; on Tuesday, Hungary announced that it would back Sweden’s bid once Ankara relents.
Meanwhile, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg announced on Tuesday that he will continue to steer the alliance’s helm for one more year despite previously asserting that he would not seek another term. This is the fourth time Stoltenberg’s NATO contract has been extended. Stoltenberg “inspires confidence,” Jane Harman, former president of the Wilson Center and a former member of the U.S. Congress, told Foreign Policy, and the lack of a clear, unanimous choice made him an obvious candidate to continue the role. “He has a gigantic job at the moment trying to handle new entrants, focus on Ukraine, and keep a very large organization functioning at a stressful time,” she said.
Sabotage fears. Concerns about a potential nuclear disaster rose on Wednesday after Ukrainian officials said they found several “objects resembling explosives” on the roofs of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant’s facilities. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned on Tuesday that Russian forces could be planning to simulate an attack on the plant and blame it on Ukraine. Such an attack could have devastating humanitarian and environmental consequences. Top Russian officials have in turn accused Ukrainian troops of trying to escalate the conflict.
The Zaporizhzhia nuclear site, Europe’s largest, has been a flash point for rising tensions since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022. Just one month into the war, Moscow took control of the plant, sparking international concern.
The end of an era. In a surprise announcement on Monday, Senegalese President Macky Sall confirmed that he will not run for office in next year’s elections. If he had, then Sall could have obtained a third term, something he has continued to allege the country’s constitution allows despite oppositional pressure. “Even if I have the right, I felt that my duty is not to contribute to destroying what I have built for this country,” Sall said.
Activists have taken news of Sall stepping away as a win for the opposition, and it goes some way toward calming fears of continued political unrest in the West African nation. Last month saw people take to the streets to protest opposition leader Ousmane Sonko being sentenced to two years in prison for “corrupting youth.” Sonko, Sall’s primary rival, had called for further demonstrations if the president announced his intention to seek reelection.
Odds and Ends
Time for a big fat lizard wedding. Mayor Victor Hugo Sosa of Mexico’s San Pedro Huamelula tied the knot with Alicia Adriana, a caiman alligator, on Monday in a 230-year tradition that commemorates the establishment of peace between two Indigenous groups. “We are very happy about this marriage today because we are celebrating the union of two cultures,” the mayor said. Mazel tov!
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