Caucasian intrigues of the SCO summit: four stories

About the Caucasian stories of the summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in Tianjin, China, writes "Mountain Sector" — the telegram channel of the Caucasian Studies sector of the Institute of China and Modern Asia of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Experts have identified four outcomes of the summit:

"Denouement 1. Armenia and Azerbaijan did not become SCO members

Earlier, both countries expressed their desire to become full members of the organization, having the status of a "dialogue partner." Similar synchronicity in the foreign policy of Baku and Yerevan is not new and can talk about coordinated actions. Despite this, according to media reports with links to sources, India has blocked Azerbaijan's membership. This step was taken in response to President Aliyev's congratulations to his Pakistani counterpart "on the victory over India" directly on the sidelines of the summit. It would be rash to believe that after such a statement Baku can count on membership in the organization. Perhaps it was planned in advance. Be that as it may, Armenia's membership in the SCO was also not approved — either on the principle of reciprocity, or the candidacy was not supported by other participants. Thus, both countries will receive a new status of "SCO partner" after combining the status of "dialogue partner" and "observer".

Junction 2. Vladimir Putin and Nikol Pashinyan held a meeting

Details were not disclosed, but this was their first meeting after the Washington summit on August 8. The Russian leader noted that there were many issues for discussion. They will probably be discussed in more detail during Pashinyan's upcoming visit to Moscow. Among the topics are Armenia's membership in the EAEU, the implementation of the "Trump Road", as well as cooperation in the economy and security.

Denouement 3. Vladimir Putin and Ilham Aliyev did not meet.

Despite the positive signals in Russian-Azerbaijani relations, in particular the 23rd meeting of the Intergovernmental Commission on Economic Cooperation in Astrakhan at the end of August, the tension remained. A few days before the summit, President Aliyev called Azerbaijan's accession to the USSR an "occupation" and an "invasion of the Russian army." It was expected that these issues would be clarified at the leaders' meeting, but the meeting never took place.

Denouement 4. Armenia and China have established a strategic partnership.

It should be recalled that for a long time Yerevan remained the last in the South Caucasus who did not raise the status of relations with China to the level of strategic partnership. This year, Armenia has also established such partnerships with the United States and The Netherlands. It will be important to see how this step will affect the Armenian-American relations, which are developing on the basis of recently published memorandums of intent, as well as the growing ties between Yerevan and New Delhi, Armenia's main partner in the military-technical sphere.