Putin went to the SCO summit in Uzbekistan. The main news is that he is no longer late for meetings (now they are late for him)

On September 15-16, Russian President Vladimir Putin spent time in Samarkand, where he took part in the Council of Heads of State of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization ( SCO ). During the trip, Putin met with the leaders of China , Turkey , Iran , India and other Asian countries, relations with which have become much more important to Russia than before after the start of the war and the break with the West. There were no fundamentally new statements about cooperation at the summit - instead, a cooling was noted in the tone of the Chinese side, and the Prime Minister of India told Putin that now is "not the era of wars." For the Russian president, this was not the only awkward moment at the summit. Here is what happened to him in Samarkand.

Putin forced to acknowledge China's 'concerns' over Russian invasion

During a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, the Russian President said : "The world is changing rapidly, but only one thing remains unchanged: friendship between China and Russia..." At the same time, Putin added, he understands China's "questions and concerns" in connection with the "Ukrainian crisis." Thus, Putin acknowledged that China is unhappy with the war, the West noted . The Chinese side did not mention Ukraine in its report on the meeting between Xi Jinping and Putin.

And make excuses to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi

Modi said that "the current era is not an era of wars." The Russian president responded: "I know your position on the conflict in Ukraine, your concerns that you constantly express." Russia, he continued, will do everything to ensure that the war ends as soon as possible, but Kiev wants to win it on the battlefield. Putin said "in Ukraine," not "in Ukraine." Perhaps for the first time.

And he also had to wait (more than once)

The Russian president is known for his tardiness (for example, he was once 45 minutes late even to see Pope Francis). But in Samarkand, he himself had to wait for the leaders of several countries at once - Turkey, India, Azerbaijan and Kyrgyzstan. Putin mistakenly called the late Turkish president the prime minister.

Erdogan gave Putin a hand. This was considered suspicious

On September 17, a video appeared showing Putin and Erdogan walking side by side, with the Turkish president holding his Russian counterpart's hand. This was discussed on social media in the context of Putin's possible health problems (the press regularly writes about them, but the Kremlin denies them).

But there is good news. Xi Jinping spoke to Putin without a mask

The current visit to Central Asia (before the SCO summit in Uzbekistan, Xi Jinping visited Kazakhstan) was the first trip abroad for the Chinese leader since the start of the pandemic. Due to Covid-related precautions, Xi Jinping missed a dinner with other heads of state in Samarkand. However, he did not wear a mask when talking to Putin.

But Alexander Lukashenko (who called masks muzzles) was forced to wear a mask at a meeting with Xi Jinping.

And Russia is not isolated

Since the invasion of Ukraine and the break in relations with the West, the Russian president has repeatedly said that “it is impossible to isolate Russia.” Pro-Kremlin bloggers have taken a joint photo of Putin with other leaders at the SCO summit as proof of this.

Bonus - another interesting photo: Putin's table at the SCO summit

Cover photo: Getty Images