Russia backs India’s stance at SCO summit

Russia on Thursday backed India’s assertion that Pakistan shouldn’t raise bilateral matters at platforms such as the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), saying these groupings are focused on multilateral cooperation to tackle regional challenges.

Modi took an indirect swipe at Pakistan at SCO’s virtual summit on Tuesday, saying it is unfortunate that repeated attempts are being made to violate the grouping’s charter by raising bilateral issues.

Asked about this matter during an online news briefing on Thursday, Russia’s deputy chief of mission Roman Babushkin said SCO’s charter does not allow the inclusion of bilateral issues. Russia, the current chair of SCO, made it clear to all member states that such issues should be avoided. The main objective of SCO is dealing with regional challenges and threats and promoting economic, financial and humanitarian partnership among member states in order to maintain the momentum of ongoing collaboration, he said.

“We should not [divert] our attention to bilateral disputes, we don’t interfere in these bilateral disputes,” Babushkin said, adding that Russia’s position on India-Pakistan disputes remains “consistent and unchanged”.